Author's Note: Hello, all! Boy, are we glad to see you! This chapter was quite an effort, but we like the way it turned out and are pretty sure you will as well. We're getting to develop the real plot now, and it's becoming more and more exciting as we move forward. Bonus points if you spot our little meme reference; let us know if you do. Now without any further ado, enjoy the newest installment of Sincerely, the Doctor! ~O&M
Chapter 10: Plan
"Well then, are you ready to see the stars?"
Rose met the Doctor's confident gaze, enthusiasm at the prospect shining in her eyes. As she was about to reply with a wholehearted yes and perhaps a bit of excited squealing, she was cut off once again by that cold voice ringing out.
"That's all very well and good, Doctor, but what do you plan to do? You surely do not think you can walk through the gates of Vasiior's capitol city and expect them to welcome you. One does not simply walk into Vasiior." Sniggers and chuckles could be heard echoing around the hall at this thought.
The Doctor spun around, pivoting on his heels to once again meet the hard look of the queen with a cheerful grin.
"That about sums it up! Why, did you have a suggestion, your royal queenliness?"
"Vasiior is a mighty kingdom that will not take kindly to your intrusion. Therefore, I propose we meet their might with our own force. We will send an army with you to safeguard your journey and face any opposition they send forth. If it is war they want, then it is war they will have."
The Doctor laughed and clapped his hands. "Ha! An army, oh that's funny. You, queenie, are too funny." When his words were met with stark silence, his smile quickly dropped from his face. "Oh, you were serious. I'm sorry, I thought you called me here to keep peace. Don't you know I don't do guns?" His ever-present grin was now replaced with a new frown, unfamiliar and unwelcome to Rose.
"How then do you intend to retrieve our daughter?" The queen replied.
"The Doctor way, of course!" He answered, pulling out his sonic and examined it. "We storm into the Vasorian court, use this," he continued, indicating the screwdriver, "yell 'WHERE'S THE PRINCESS,' and then do some interrogations. We'll find her in no time! Besides," he exclaimed, "I always enjoy the element of surprise!"
Rose caught on to the Doctor's last word, and her mind went whirling this way and that. Now this was a real adventure. Surprising the enemy, no, even better, they would go undercover! That would be a true mission. As her thoughts bounced around in a flurry of renewed excitement, she could not contain herself.
"We can take it one step further and go as spies!" She announced, rather louder than she had intended. "We'll go undercover, like a secret mission. Except," she said, smiling at the Doctor, "we won't use guns."
The Doctor wondered if she knew exactly what to do to wrap him around her finger, or if she just so happened to say all the right things. He wasn't about to disappoint Rose. After a moment of contemplative silence, he resumed.
"Alright! Love a good secret mission, we've got to have one of those," he announced, strutting down the stairs and onto the purple carpet. "I'm going to need those two horses, two incredible disguises, fish fingers, magnifying glasses, rations, a map, and a tricorn hat. Oh, and don't forget the custard! And absolutely, under any circumstance, no apples, I hate apples. Thank you, queenie!"
Rose hurried after the Doctor as he left the courtroom, not even trying to conceal her laughter. Immediately after walking out the huge doors, servants, maids, footmen and butlers demanded their attention. There was a small cluster of young people who pushed and prodded the Doctor and Rose into a different building, through hallways and corridors, up stairs and down, chattering excitedly. Through all the flurry and noise, Rose heard the Doctor say, just to her, "Rose, this is where the real adventure begins." And all of a sudden, he was gone, as the ladies led her down one way and the boys led him down another.
"You're going to need a different dress, ma'am, if you're traveling under cover to Vasiior. They're much more formal there," one of the ladies-in-waiting explained hesitantly as they reached their destination. The space was much more like an apartment suite than a dressing room, embellished with expensive-looking furniture and bookshelves and even a telescope pointed towards the sky. The ceilings and walls were covered in drawings and art, and there were paints and easels and brushes laying around everywhere. The rest of the girls quickly sat Rose down at the vanity and started combing and tugging and brushing and pulling at her hair. One of them, Lyda, as Rose learned her name was, retrieved a few dresses from the closet.
"Do you just keep dresses 'round the castle?" Rose inquired. "Who's room is this? I like the artwork."
Lyda peered somewhat nervously at the other girls and then quickly back to Rose. "Ma'am, the dresses are simply part of the Royal Wardrobe. The female staff are allowed to wear them to balls and weddings on occasion."
The dresses seemed a tad bit formal to Rose, but she knew that the mission they were about to embark on would be difficult enough without being underdressed and sticking out like a sore thumb. Besides, she trusted that the girls knew what they were doing.
"What did the Doctor do?" She inquired, still looking about the room. "The last time he was here, I mean."
The girls traded quick looks with one another, and continued their work.
"Oh, so it's a secret, then..." she mused. The Doctor wasn't a terribly intimidating creature upon first glance, but the queen grudgingly respected him, perhaps even feared him. Whatever daring conquest he had accomplished, it must have been wondrous. Maybe he saved the kingdom from a siege, or he solved their oil crises or he solved a murder, but something in the back of Rose's mind told her she wasn't thinking big enough. If he had done any one of those things, those excellent things, why would the handmaidens refuse to tell her? She asked once more, and once more her query was ignored. What could her darling silly man do to be able to give orders to monarchs? She let her mind explore the realm of possibilities, unable to tear her thoughts away from the Doctor.
After the handmaidens traded her casual outfit for an elaborately structured gown and her tousled hair for a complicated braided 'do, Rose was escorted back outside to where the TARDIS was waiting for her. The boys were nowhere to be seen so she assumed that The Doctor was still being transformed. The thought of her alien man in a medieval tunic, tights, and leather boots made her laugh. The ladies said their goodbyes, and Lyda paused a moment more to wish her luck on the mission. The sincerity of her thought touched Rose, but the urgent fervency in Lyda's voice stirred an anxious tightness in the pit of her stomach. Closing the door and putting the disconcerting feeling behind her, Rose entered the TARDIS and was surprised to see the Doctor was already running about the console, surrounded by a few palace-appointed advisors, guides, and even a few horses. And on the floor, next to the console, was a pile of the items the Doctor had requested. Rose had been correct: he wasn't wearing anything different from his usual garb. He had his back to her, but he still wore his typical tweed jacket and silly straight pants.
"I should have known you were exempt from our little disguise idea."
"What are you suggesting? This is my incredible disguise! No one will suspect that I'm a doctor now." He chuckled at his own joke before continuing. "Of course, I'm quite attached to this outfit. Tweedie goes with me everywhere. And you know I look cool," he said, adjusting his bowtie while facing away from Rose and attempting to pop his shirt as he spun on his heels to face her. Instead of the cocky persona he was attempting, the Doctor ended up losing his hold on his jacket, ending up merely making his lapels a bit lopsided as he awkwardly brought his hands down to his side.
All the scattered thoughts and plans that had been running rampant in the Doctor's mind quickly made an about face and fled, most likely never to return. Medieval costume wasn't exactly his favorite, and he was first to admit it, but Rose. Rose.
"Not with that dopey look on your face," she remarked, tapping his jaw shut as she walked by.
"Nine hundred years of time and space and I don't think a single creature has ever closed my mouth for me," he protested, snapping back to attention.
Rose stopped at the console and put both hands on a red lever. "Well, there's a first time for everything, Doctor, ain't there? You need someone to keep you in line" She teased. "Are you ready to go, or are we just going to stand around all day talking?"
The Doctor, refusing to disappoint, leapt to his beloved control system. "Alright, deary Miss Tyler, are you ready to change the course of history?" His hands flew along the board, playing the instrument he had learned throughout his life with dedication and enthusiasm, eager to show off his box, his only full-time companion.
Once again, the TARDIS lurched forward, and once again Rose's desire for adventure was close to satisfied.
Within moments, they landed, giving Rose the impression that they were not all that far away from their starting point. However, judging by the reactions of the Leinedite palace officials and guides, whose jaws and fists were clenched in an undoubtedly negative emotion, they had arrived safely in Vasiior.
"We're here?" She asked, as the Doctor scurried about the room, picking up this and that, moving things about, nearly knocking into the innocent bystanding horses while doing so.
"Yah!" He replied, though his answer was a bit muffled due to the tricorn hat between his teeth. "Here we are, Rose! Onwards!" He announced, pointing toward the TARDIS door. "We've got a princess to save!" He began to wave his limbs about - well, as much as the objects in his arms would allow him. Apparently, Rose's lack of a reaction was insufficient, as the Doctor marched toward her, bumped into her, and pushed her out the door. Rose, of course, was all laughter. The palace officials and guides followed closely behind with the horses in tow.
With a crowd behind her, Rose opened the door, and, just as before, was greeted with a stream of light, nearly blinding them. This time, however, sticky, humid air accompanied it. Rose, the Doctor, and the Leinedites shuffled their way out of the door, with the Doctor taking great care to not drop a single map, magnifying glass, nor fish finger.
Rose had not even a moment for her eyes to adjust to the blinding sunlight outside the TARDIS before she felt something grab her arm and draw her forward. "Who's there?" She cried out, trying to pull away and shield her eyes against the glare.
"Are you Leneidite?" A strange, accented voice answered back. She heard the Doctor's voice attempt an answer, but, perhaps unfortunately, his mouth was still full of hat. That didn't seem to deter him, however. Rose instinctively pulled away again. "I said, who's there?" Whatever had hold of her quickly let go, and her eyes began to focus.
Just as the world came into view, she saw who was there.
The entire Vasoriian Army.
"Are you Leneidite?" one of them asked again. She couldn't quite tell to whom the voice belonged, but it was harsh and untempered, immediately compelling Rose to respond.
"Even if I was, wha-"
"We come on business of the Royal Court of Leinede," the head advisor spoke out from behind Rose, cutting off her reply.
Immediately, the army surrounded them, quickly prodding and pulling her, the Doctor, who was still holding onto his effects, and the true Leinedites onto their horses and instructed them to follow.
"Worry not, Leneidite. We can be trusted," one of her escorts assured her. He was only near her for a second, but Rose was able to get a good look at him.
Like the Leinidites, the Vasoriians were humanoid, much to Rose's relief. However, their skin was not speckled, nor was it grey. This particular Vasoriian's skin was dark, so close to Mickey's skin tone that she did a double take. His hair was blonde, though, and assembled into braids with beads and trinkets embedded within. His eyes were large and emerald green, brought out further by the heavy black kohl surrounding them. Above these striking eyes, there was no distinguishable eyebrow to be seen, leading her to the fleeting, comical thought that perhaps he and the Doctor were distantly related. The Vasoriian was decorated in earrings and necklaces of gold and bone and copper and glass. He appeared to her, fierce and sure. And in a flash, he was gone.
The next half hour was a whirlwind to Rose. Maybe it was the Vasoriian air, sunshine, or rainforest-like terrain that affected her brain, or maybe even that this was all too much to absorb in one day, but she couldn't quite keep track of what was happening. First they were riding at full gallop to some unknown destination, then they were quickly taken off of their mounts, and
Rose quickly learned that where the Leinedites were all formality and stiff hospitality, the Vasorians held a wild quality in their appearance and posture.
Rose was soon on the ground again, but that didn't prevent the Vasoriians from fussing with her. She briefly heard someone offer her water, which she received quite enthusiastically. Someone else placed something cold and hard onto the top of her head amidst her complicated braids, and before she had time to feel it, she was being pushed along toward a grassy hill, with people sitting all around. Rose thought perhaps the water was working because her sight and understanding were a bit clearer now. She looked behind her to see the Doctor and the royal advisors going through a similar process. Once she reached the bottom of the hill, her escorts stopped pushing and turned her, as well as the Doctor, who was now beside her, and the others, toward the awaiting crowd.
"Doctor," Rose breathed. "What's going on?"
"Haven't the foggiest. Best let me do the talking," he said, the tricorn hat out of his mouth and onto his head. He winked at her, reassuringly and gave her his goofy lopsided grin. He stepped forward and opened his mouth in the usual Doctor fashion, but he was cut off by the deafening sound of a gong.
Then they both turned to watch as the court announcer stepped out to face what appeared to be the Vasoriian royal family, who happened to be seated at the front of the crowd.
"Your royal highnesses, I have the honor to present to you the Princess Nekoda of the Royal Leinedite Court, who has been sent in acceptance of the marriage proposal of Prince Ezra'a."
Rose's face flushed red, the reality of the situation dawning on her. She and the Doctor traded quick, concerned glances, his face the picture of confusion.
"Excuse me, wha'?"
Author's Note: So yah, this one was a long one in the making, and I thought it wasn't going to be a good one, but I think it went well. :) How do you like our little plot so far? Lots happened here. We're pretty excited for the chapters to come! Let us know what you think! -M&O