A/N: So this chapter is a second part to the previous one, otherwise these two chapters put together as one would have been far too long!
Summary: The Doctor decides to take Amy to a planet since they haven't been 'Planet-visiting' for a while. He said that the planet Stelpor is like a planet from a fairy tale, except when they turn up it seems dull and abandoned. A lonely Selonian takes them from the dangerous outsides to his dwelling, and he tells them how their planet is now in dictatorship from Culfurus and his army after a civil war broke out on who would take the throne from the previous king of which had no descendants. The Doctor plans on stopping the dictatorship, but it's night and Armist insists that they both rest. Amy and the Doctor have to share a bed, and so the Doctor lies on top of the bed. Amy says how she is cold, and so he gets under the covers after all the hints she gave out, and cuddles her through the night to keep her warm.
Matt Smith owns my heart, but I don't own Doctor Who or its characters. The BBC does though.
"Time to rise, Pond." Amy awoke, but didn't open her eyes. She was enjoying being in the Doctor's arms too much. His warm, beating, hearts… The Doctor sighed. He stroked her hair; "Amy, do you want to save a planet or not?"
"I'm quite comfortable thanks." She muttered, and then blushed a little. "Just 5 more minutes?" She pleaded.
"5 more minutes, starting from now." The Doctor said, looking at his watch.
"Arms!" Amy said, indicating she wanted his arms back around her. The Doctor smiled, and wrapped them round her. He started stroking her hair too, feeling its velvety smooth texture. She is so beautiful…he thought. He felt her drift into sleep again, and decided to make the 5 minutes into 10. He was enjoying holding Amy.
"Right, come along Pond." He whispered in her ear, and kissed her head. She groaned and got up slowly. She roughly sorted out her hair so it was presentable, then they both went into Armist's living room.
"Do you have a plan devised, Doctor?" Armist asked, hoping that the Doctor could end this misery.
"Yes…sort of…no." The Doctor replied. Armist looked disappointed. "Well I need to know a few things. Such as, what does Culfurus value most? What does he lack that he needs?"
"He takes great interest in things not seen before. New things, foreign to the land."
"Fantastic! I'm as about as foreign as you can get!" the Doctor grinned.
"But you would have to prove you are of no threat, otherwise the army will kill you before you can even see him." Armist warned.
"Ah, that raises another question – where is this Culfurus?" The Doctor narrowed his eyes. He had a feeling he was in the spikey castle, but needed confirmation.
"The castle of Tynthor." Armist replied. He had a feeling the Doctor's plan wasn't going to work.
"So now there's the issue of getting there and getting there alive." The Doctor thought out loud. Amy put her hand up in the air, like a child in school wanting to ask a question
"I have an idea." She said. The Doctor signalled her to carry on. "Well, since Doctor, we're both pretty much foreign as foreign gets to this planet, Armist could say he had found some intruders, and thought Culfurus would take interest in us aliens. The army people could then escort us to the castle itself, and we get in with no risk of death." She felt pleased with herself.
"Hmm…simple enough it might work. We just have to make it believable." The Doctor said, impressed with Amy's plan. There were no other safer options it seemed.
"May I ask, Doctor, how are you going to eradicate Culfurus off the throne?" Armist asked.
"I'm glad someone asked that," the Doctor beamed. "Selonians brains are built to communicate within their brains via frequencies of electromagnet waves, of which if altered can have fatal effects for them. And guess what I have that can do that?" The Doctor asked. Amy and Armist were confused as to whether or not this was a rhetorical question.
"What do you have, Doctor?" Armist asked.
"This!" and the Doctor held his sonic screwdriver in the air. Amy rolled her eyes. What doesn't that thing do she thought. "However, I will not use this to kill him. Otherwise I would not be the Doctor. I will use it as a bribe, and then do something that will force him off the throne for good."
"Something?" Amy asked.
"I haven't thought of that yet. I'll improvise. I do like improvising." The Doctor smiled. "Right, Armist you'll need to tie us up and make it look like you've captured us and wish to show Culfurus the aliens you have captured." Armist nodded in reply, and after a bit of rummaging around in a cupboard, brought out some rope and tied Amy's hand to the Doctors, and then made a lead to 'control' them with. Amy didn't mind this part of the plan at all. Armist led them out the door, and pretended that he was dragging them along. Suddenly without a breath of wind, warriors appeared circling Armist, the Doctor and Amy.
"State your intentions." Said a menacing, low voice, quite suiting for a brute of a warrior. They were dressed in body armour, from head to toe. Their mask was long, the eye holes cut to give the warriors a constant spine chilling expression. Amy didn't need to act like she was scared; the soldiers were enough to give her nightmares. They held what seemed to be spears, but Amy knew they were far more advanced than that.
"I found some intruders, aliens in my house. I thought Culfurus would take some interest in these weird beings of a different planet." He explained. The Warriors shot glances each other, then examined the weird and obscure life forms.
"We shall escort you there." One of them said. They all raised their spears so they formed an enclosed prism. All of a sudden, they found themselves in the castle. Amy and the Doctor looked around in awe. The castle was immense in size. It felt as though it had once held a joyful atmosphere, but it had long gone, just a ghost that barely ceased to drift along the corridors in the castle. The soldiers then escorted them up some stairs, along various corridors until they reached doors so tall, even if you looked up you could barely see where they ended. The doors opened and at the end of the room they faced was a chair, almost equally as tall as the door. It seemed to be a chair of importance; a throne for a king. The Selonian, the Gallifreyan and the Human were escorted in front of the king. A king with no crown it seemed. The king who was wearing a dusky golden shawl over his face dismissed all the guards and warriors, until it was just the 4 of them in the room.
"Interesting," the king got up from his throne and went down to Amy and the Doctor. He circled them, inspecting their strange features. He lifted Amy's hair, examining its bright colours. "And what exactly are you?" he asked.
There was some hesitation. "I'm the Doctor."
"I want to know your race, not your name." Culfurus said, his hands curling into fists.
"I am a Time Lord." He replied.
"A Time Lord? You must be the last of your kind. Something to be treasured." The king contemplated. "And your mate here? Or is she Time Lord too?"
"No. I'm human actually." Amy answered.
"Quite a feisty one at that." he said. He didn't sound too amused either. "Why are you here?" He asked.
"Well look at this planet." The Doctor said, knowing the discussion of the planet's condition was something that really displeased Culfurus. "Not meaning to offend you Culfurus, but it's in a right state. I remember how it used to be; so beautiful. The stuff of fairy tales as it were. 'Your people' live in fear."
"This planet needs structure, power, and leadership. If I were to let them all indulge, Doctor, this planet would turn to corruption. I may be over turned!" He boomed. Amy was now stuck on the spot with fear, not that she could go far tied to the Doctor.
"That's where you're wrong. The previous king had let the planet be how it should, enjoyed by all. It was peaceful, harmonious, everything it should be." The Doctor said, losing his patience.
"Iratiko had no idea how to run a planet! Besides, who do you think you are, arriving on my planet then telling me how to run it! What would you know Doctor, your planet is lost and gone." He spat. The Doctor looked hurt. Amy held his hand trying to comfort him. Culfurus noticed this.
"Oh, I see." Amy could sense a smile spreading across Culfurus's face, an evil one at that. "You are with the human then I presume?"
"Leave her alone." The Doctor grimaced, slightly stepping forward to put himself between Culfurus and Amy.
"Don't worry Doctor, I don't take an interest in apes. Unlike you…" he chuckled. "Besides, you should leave Doctor if you know what's best."
"Wrong." The Doctor signalled to Armist to undo the very easy knot that restrained the Doctor. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver. "You know what this does? It can alter electromagnet signals with one press of a button." Culfurus stepped back in fear. "Oh yes, you know exactly what that means. Now I want to make a deal. You let me talk to all your people, all your residents – uninterrupted - or I'll simply have to abdicate you." Culfurus growled in frustration. "Then afterwards, I promise we will leave this planet, and be of no more trouble. You have my word." The Doctor said.
"5 minutes Doctor, then if you don't leave, I shall kill off the last of your race…and your mate." He said. Amy replied to the threat with daggers in her eyes, but she was also considering how Culfurus thought her and the Doctor were together. We must look like a couple…she smiled to herself, but then remembered where she was. Culfurus sent orders to his army to round up everyone in the kingdom, for there was someone to speak to them. The Doctor and Amy made their way to the grand balcony where speeches were delivered.
"Doctor, what on Earth are you going to say?" Amy slightly whispered, not wanting Culfurus to overhear.
"I don't know yet. But something persuasive. Something that will turn them all against the one they live in fear of." He whispered back. Eventually after only around 15 minutes, groups of Selonians were teleported by the army to hear what the Gallifreyan had to say. Culfurus then stepped forward, and ordered everyone to be silent and to listen to what this being had to say.
"Hello Selonians of Stelpor. I am the Doctor, a Time Lord from Gallifrey and this is Amy, a human from Earth. Now we came to your planet, expecting to see something of a fairy tale, but when we arrived we saw that this fairy tale had been turned into a nightmare. You all live under dictatorship. You live in fear of your own 'king'. But ask yourselves this; what right does Culfurus have to the throne? None. He took it by force. Now I've done a bit of research, and I'm sure you're all aware of the Crown of Omnitzia, the crown that rightfully chooses the king of Stelpor. Right now, at this very moment you all have a choice, including Culfurus's army. You can continue to live in misery, and as a result die in let's say just under 10 years as this planet is dying, OR you can do what is right. Overthrow the 'king'. You all together are far more powerful than Culfurus alone." The Doctor could see the Selonians looking at each other; even the army, and they seemed to be discussing what to do. "My 5 minutes is almost up, but if you choose the right thing, the Crown is at the top of the tallest tower in this castle, and I appoint Armist as the Selonian who will be in charge of the crown. He will test you all to see who the crown chooses to be the next king or indeed queen." The discussions became louder, and suddenly one, big riot erupted. They seemed to be all entering the castle, doing the right thing.
"Doctor, how are we going to escape!" Amy shouted over the noise.
"Armist if you don't mind?" The Doctor asked.
"Yes Doctor," Armist handed him a spear weapon, the one that Culfurus's army uses. "And I must say, I honour that you have given me such a duty Doctor, and you will be something of a legend passed down from generation to generation. The Doctor – saviour of Stelpor, the Gallifreyan who gave us hope." The Doctor smiled, slightly bashfully and held onto Amy as he transported them back outside the Tardis.
"So what's going to happen to Culfurus?" Amy asked.
"They have two options; imprison him or execute him. Hopefully they will imprison him because it is far worse to be stuck living with yourself for life than to escape by death." The Doctor replied, who looked distant.
"You ok Doctor?" Amy said concerned. He didn't look too happy considering he gave Stelpor life again, and its people won't have to live in fear no more.
Yes, yes, I'm fine, but come on, you look sleepy." He signalled for her to enter the Tardis.
"Urgh what is it with aliens insisting I should rest all the time?" She whined. Then she let out a yawn, and her eyes were slowly closing. She nearly fell on the floor falling asleep, but the Doctor caught her in time.
"Pond, such a stubborn girl." He laughed. He carried her into her bed, and tucked her in. He swept her hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. Amy opened her eyes.
"Doctor, can you sleep in my bed tonight? It gets really lonely…" she drifted off again. The Doctor sighed. How many times do I need to explain, Time Lords don't need to sleep as much as humans. Ah well, can't do any harm. He got into bed with her, and lay flat on his back staring at the ceiling. Amy opened her eyes again, squinting. "Arms!" she demanded again. Like a trained dog, the Doctor turned on his side and pulled her to his chest, holding her there, and she could hear the beating hearts of her Raggedy Doctor. He smiled and felt like the luckiest being in the cosmos.