Omigosh! Sorry its taken so long to get this up, and I'm really sorry again because this is a bit of a filler chapter. We do learn alot about what's going to happen though, so please forgive me for the length! It's longer than some of my English essays! Anyway...
"Right Amy, ready to meet some of the finest monarchs Great Britain's ever seen?"
"Well, I would be, only don't you need to change first? Hardly fits in with the period charm does it." Amy said gesturing down at the Victorian gown she was modelling. The Doctor looked at her as if she'd said that she thought the idea of fish fingers and custard was an appalling one, again...
"Me? I'm fine. Let's go."
Amy sighed, "Do you know how hard it is to breath in one of these?"
"Well it is a dinner party; you'll be taking it off fairly soon. I can even help you if it makes you feel any better."
Then the Doctor realised what he'd just said and tried to back track. Fast.
"I mean, you probably will need help, those things are difficult, um, I'm glad the TARDIS could manage it. It would probably be more helpful for a maid to do it though, they know how these things work, I would make it worse. You wouldn't want me there anyway. Stupid suggestion really." Deep breath, "You look nice!" he tried to change the topic, failing epically.
"Aw Doctor, you really are sweet sometimes. Let's just go before you dig yourself into an even deeper hole."
With that, she opened the doors of the TARDIS into an old oil lamp lit London street. The trees were bare and the ground was littered by a thin layer of snow, but it was getting thicker rapidly as the flakes fell from the dark clouds.
"Blimey Doctor, its freezing! How far away did you park? I don't think I can go too far in this!"
"Its fine, the palace is only around that corner. I thought it would look a little strange if everyone else was arriving by coach and we turned up in a little police box."
"Never bothered you before."
"Well this is for royalty, and Victoria and I have previous, well, I say previous, my previous, her future."
"What do you mean previous?" Amy was starting to get a little jealous, the Doctor had never mentioned this before, and Queen Victoria was human! Why should she be given special treatment when it had taken Amy so long to talk him round.
"Oh, she banished me and my companion at the time from the empire after knighting me actually. Must get that added to my business card. Anyway, don't get your knickers in a twist, if you are wearing them, I don't know what the Victorians wear, bloomers probably..."
"Oi! Enough about my underwear! You were banned from the empire knighted, and when did you get business cards?"
"All in good time my dear, all in good time!" The Doctor brought that line of conversation to a close as he linked his arm with Amy's pulled her close to keep her warm and began walking towards the palace.
When they got to the gate, Amy gasped.
"When you said palace, I thought you meant somewhere else, not Buckingham Palace!"
"Well, where else, moron, this is her primary residence, anyway, it's Albert's party today, don't forget that."
"Hey, I'm not a moron, space boy!"
"No, thats right, tonight you are Marchioness Amelia Jessica Smith of Tardis, formerly of Inverness."
"Wait a minute, Marchioness Amelia Jessica Smith, where did the Pond go? And Marchioness, when did that happen? And of Tardis surely the Queen of the British Empire knows that there isn't a place called Tardis!"
"One, there is a place called Tardis, I created it years ago solely for reasons like this, and two, you are Marchioness Amelia Jessica Smith because I am the Marques Dr. John Smith and you are my wife."
"Wow, Doctor, when did things get so serious?" Amy said, kissing his cheek playfully.
"Pond! Play it down, Victorian etiquette! Anyway, back then," he corrected himself, "now, it was deemed unreasonable for a man to travel with a woman if they were unmarried."
"I'm not complaining, just don't be getting any ideas..." she smiled cheekily at him. The Doctor rolled his eyes.
By this point, they had reached the gateman and flashed him both the Doctor's invitation and psychic paper. They were ushered inside quickly to be announced. Amy was slightly nervous about meeting one of the most famous and severe monarchs of all time. From what she'd learned, Victoria knew her own mind and was uneasily pleased. On voicing this to the Doctor, he told her not to worry and held her had as they walked up to the grand reception room to meet the queen and her consort.
"The Marques Dr. John Smith of Tardis accompanied by his wife, the Marchioness Amelia Jessica Smith." A loud, regal voice announced, giving the Doctor and Amy not option but to enter the reception area. The Doctor bowed to Victoria and kissed her hand then bowed equally as low to her husband. Amy curtseyed deeply, hoping to look graceful and elegant, which she pulled off for the most part, but got confused about how low to go and when to rise and kept low.
"Arise, my child." Came an amused yet still upper class and regal voice. Amy blushed what she hoped wasn't too much of a deep shade of magenta, and hastened to stand up. She kept her eyes low, unsure of what the protocol was when speaking to a monarch .
"You can look at me; I don't make it my habit to bite." On this, Amy looked up to see that Victoria was smiling friendlily at her.
"You cannot have been long introduced into society before the present. You must have been married off only recently, am I correct, what was it, Amelia?"
Amy thought it best to comply,
"Yes your highness."
"You are a timid creature aren't you?" The Doctor would have laughed had he have been listening, "Find me once this tedious task is completed, I wish to know more of you."
"Of course, my lady."
"Amelia, won't you call me Victoria?"
"Certainly," she paused, "Victoria."
Meanwhile, the Doctor had been conversing with Albert...
"My, my Dr. Smith, you really weren't joking when you said the next time you would see me you would most likely have a new face."
"Would I tell a lie, Albert?" the Doctor said, smiling cheekily.
"Can I ask one thing, I know you told me not to ask about your changing face, but this does not concern that."
"Fire away, sir."
"Where were we the last time we met?"
"I believe we were in a tiny tea room in a remote Scottish village, discussing the best way of building a refracting telescope."
"I knew it was you, when you walked in, it was obvious."
"The announcer guy helps." Albert and the Doctor laughed as easily as if they had only last seen each other yesterday. On seeing that Amy had finished her conversation with Victoria, the Doctor squeezed her hand and led to get a drink from the other side of the room. They retreated back towards the wall.
"So, what did you make of them?" The Doctor asked, leaning on the wall.
"Victoria and Albert? They seem really, um, nice actually!" Amy said surprised as she copied him, still trying to maintain a straight posture and thus failing dismally. She corrected herself in the most dignified way possible and continued, "Victoria says she 'wishes to know more of me' and I have to call her Victoria, not any other title.
"She's taken a shine to you. That's brilliant! She really is incredible you know."
"As incredible as you keep telling me I am?"
"Well, I wouldn't go that far..." Amy giggled, then leaned in to kiss him. The Doctor cleared his throat and turned his head slightly.
"Amelia, darling, please do remember where we are."
"Of course, my love, I do apologise." Amy pulled a face and put on an excessively posh southern accent. The Doctor rolled his eyes. He began to speak but was interrupted by a booming voice telling the party that dinner was served in the dining room.
All the guests were led to their seats. Amy kept as close to the Doctor as humanly possible. Normally, she would have relaxed and acted more, well, Amy-ish, but she was in the company of the Queen! And this Queen conducted herself in a queenly fashion, unlike her great, great, great etc, etc, etc, granddaughter, Liz 10. Moreover, this Queen wanted to get to know her and seemed to like her, thus Amy felt she had to impress.
"My Lady? Lady Smith?" the voice of her guide gathered no attention from Amy, she was unused to being called My Lady, let alone Lady Smith!
"Amelia, darling?" The Doctor politely attracted Amy's attention and turned it onto the man who was to guide her to her seat.
"Yes, sorry. Um, where am I to sit, er, dear Sir?" Amy regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth. She regretted them further when the Doctor began to snigger slightly. She surreptitiously elbowed him, luckily no one else had seen or heard the escapade.
"You are to sit here M'me, next to her highness, by special request."
"Really? Me? But where with the D..." she remembered, then corrected herself, "my husband sit?"
"He will be next door but one to you, on your other side."
Amy started to protest, but was quickly interrupted by the Doctor,
"Thank you very much. We'll sit where we're told." The servant left.
"Thank you very much. We'll sit where we're told." Amy mimicked, trying, and failing to copy the Doctor's accent. "Now what am I going to do! There's no guide for making small talk with the Queen!"
"You'll be fine; I don't call you magnificent for nothing! Make it up! Anyway, sit down, sharpish, they'll be in in a minute!"
"I don't get this either, sitting down, only to stand up when Victoria and Albert enter! It's pointless!"
"Oh Amy do play nice!" The Doctor said sitting down. "And enjoy yourself! It is a party after all!" And with that, he turned into conversation with the man sitting next to him who turned out to be Lord John Russell, the current prime minister.
Amy sat down and was immediately set upon in conversation with the man on her other side. His name was George Cithaeron-Holmes and at first he seemed rather nice. Amy soon found out what he was after when his praise of her turned much more... intimate. It was just when Amy was about to give up hope when the same bodiless voice called, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Her Royal Highness, the Queen and her husband, his Royal Highness, Prince Albert." With that there was much scraping of chairs as the party stood. There were about twenty people in the luxuriously decorated dining room, all dressed up to the nines. Amy was marvelling at the splendidness of it all when the Doctor caught her eye and winked.
"Enjoying it?" he mouthed at her while everyone stood up. Amy surreptitiously drew her finger across her throat and pointed at the Doctor, then smiled at her neighbour, who was standing a mite too close, and watched the beautiful Queen Victoria enter the room, accompanied by Prince Albert on her arm. They sat down and were followed by the guests. Dinner consisted of an array of foods, every one of them mouth-wateringly delicious.
Amy quickly found that she was actually having a good time. Victoria gave excellent conversation and seemed genuinely interested in Amy. She gave her advice and tips on her new marriage (cough, cough) to the Marques of Tardis and was generally a lovely person to get to know. Amy had no idea how she hit it off so easily with her, but she thanked God for the opportunity and situation she was in, even if she had to keep telling Lord Cithaeron-Holmes that she was married, loudly. Finally, at the end of the meal, when Victoria and Amy were laughing over one of the latter's anecdotes about how the Doctor was wont to tell everyone possible that bow-ties were, infact, 'cool', Victoria said,
"Amelia Pond, you really are rather extraordinary! We simply must keep in touch!" Then she added to the whole table, "Now, if we are all finished, let us dance!" and with that, the whole party stood up again and filtered out of the dining room, after the regents into the ballroom.
"Ah, more dancing!" The Doctor said joyously on rejoining Amy, "I do like a good dance!"
"Yeah? How's your waltz? Anyway, how was dinner with you?"
"It was ok, I suppose," The Doctor slurred slightly, "The Prime Minister was alright at first, however, politics can get slightly boring." He hiccupped, "I had to keep drinking that wine just to keep me from falling asleep!"
"Well, you don't seem to be quite out of it yet, just keep off it for now, ok?" the Doctor nodded, "though why it's had such an effect on you, I do not know, normally alcohol affects you less when you eat with it."
"Ah, Timelord thing, 's the opposite for us." He slipped his arm around Amy's waist, then added, "c'mon, Pond! Let's dance!" And that they did, the Doctor's slightly intoxicated state did not have any effect on his dancing, which unlike the drunken giraffe move at Amy's wedding, was actually pretty good. Amy loved the way her steered her around the floor, she felt like they were the only people there, until Victoria broke into the atmosphere.
"Amy, may I speak to you for a moment, please?"
"Of course Victoria, what can I do for you?" Amy replied gladly (the Doctor had had Amy dancing so much that her feet were starting to hurt), pulling a protesting Doctor off the dance floor with her after Victoria. However, the Doctor got bored very quickly and wandered off in search of some more of 'that wine'.
"How do you like the opera?"
"The opera? It's great, why?"
"Well, Albert and I were supposed to make an appearance at the opera tomorrow night, it's Don Giovani, one of my favourites and its re-opening after touring Europe. Normally, I would have been there in an instant, but I have rather double booked myself, and Albert and I need to be elsewhere. I was wondering whether you and your husband might make an appearance there in our place?"
"Of course, we'd love to! Thank you so much for the opportunity!"
"I like you, Amelia, I don't know what it is but I really like you, and I don't say that a lot, or, moreover, at all." Amy blushed whilst Victoria continued her piece, "I hear that the county of Tardis is quite a way from here, do you need to stay here for the night?"
Amy seriously considered this, Victoria was a great person she'd love to spend more time with, but could she really stay over with the Queen? She looked over at the Doctor, he was definitely out of it now, with even more wine in his system, how was she going to get him back to the TARDIS now?
"I couldn't possibly trespass..."
"Nonsense, I will see to it that a room is made ready for you. Now, off you go and dance with your husband, before he consumes more alcohol!"
"I assure you, he's not normally like this." Amy was going to kill him, now she was making excuses for him! When he sobered up, he was going to get it!
"Oh, I know, Albert's told me all about him. Quite extraordinary. Any way, must go and mingle. I'll see you later." With that, she walked briskly off to converse with the other guests. Amy was left gobsmacked at what had just happened, but was quickly pulled away by the Doctor to dance with him some more.
Congratulations! You made it to the end, well done! I promise more will happen in the next chapter, I just needed to set the scene first. Anyway, thanks for reading, please review, and as a prize for getting down here, here's a taster:
"You see that soprano?"
"Yes Doctor, why's she so important?"
"Because I've seen her before, in an Italian opera under a different name."
"Still not seeing it..."
"Amy, that was 50 years ago, which would make her about seventy, when she looks..."
"about 20." Amy finished his sentence for him
Please read on, when I do update!