Chapter Fourteen

"Well, Doctor," Namini said as she waited for his answer.

"Yes, well, you see…I don't want to kill him," the Doctor said.

"But look at what he's done to us, look at what he's done to Nari," she protested.

"Yes, I understand and I'm sorry about your daughter but an eye for an eye isn't going to solve anything. I will prevent him from doing anymore harm to your people or anyone else here but I won't kill, not unless it's a last resort and I pray that it's not. Now will you please take me back? Amy's life hangs in the balance and time is critical."

"How do you know he hasn't killed her already or driven her insane?"

"I don't which is why I wanna get to his palace as fast as possible," the Doctor said impatiently.

"How do you propose to stop him once you're there?"

The Doctor's eyes darkened.

"I have my ways," he growled. "And rest assured if he has harmed Amy, he will pay for it."

Namini studied him quietly.

"You're an unusual man, Doctor. Normally I don't like anyone who isn't fey but you are different."

"Then will you help me defeat him?" the Doctor said.

"I will but I cannot go personally, my people would never let me. However, you can choose from my people and they can go with you. But be warned, Jareth will do everything in his power to stop you from succeeding."

"And I will do the same," the Doctor said with a determined look on his face.

Just then a guard entered the room and bowed before Namini.

"Your highness, we have an intruder," he said to her.

"Well, detain this intruder then," Namini said, alarmed.

"Um…we don't know how, your highness. The intruder is…a crystal ball."

"It must be Jareth's crystal ball. It keeps following me around and taunting me," the Doctor said. "Can you convince it to come in here?"

"I don't believe that'll be a problem, sir," the guard said as the ball suddenly zoomed in the room.

The Doctor stepped around the guard and showed himself to the ball who stopped in front of him and hovered in the air.

"Well, Jareth, I'm here. What do you want?" the Doctor said impatiently.

He stepped back when a hologram came out of the ball and he saw Jareth's image standing in front of him.

"Good afternoon, Doctor. I trust you're having an easy time going through my labyrinth," Jareth said.

The Doctor stared at the image and noticed that Jareth was looking past him. He relaxed when he realized it was just a recording and Jareth, for the moment, didn't know where he was. His blood boiled when he saw the smirk on his adversary's face.

"I'm sure you're wondering what's happening to your charming companion while you're risking life and limb in my maze," Jareth said casually. "Well, I thought I'd send this little recording and show you what she's been up to or rather what we've been up to."

The Doctor didn't like the sound of that and steeled himself for what came next. His eyes bulged when the image of Jareth was replaced with himself and Amy lying on a bed. His mouth dropped open in horror when he saw Jareth snogging his friend. Worse yet, Amy seemed to be immobile as he fondled and kissed her, her eyes staring up at the ceiling, pleading with someone to help her. The Doctor could barely contain his rage as he watched Jareth pulling up her top and fondling her breasts.

"You bastard," the Doctor said between clenched teeth as Namini came up beside him.

Namini glanced at the Doctor and noticed his face was red and his eyes were ablaze with anger.

"Is this Amy?" she asked.

The Doctor barely nodded in response. Without a word, he walked out of the room and past the guards. Anger clouded his mind and he knew that he had to get away from everyone and calm down before he did something he would regret. He quickened his pace until he reached an empty corridor. With a howl of rage, he hit the wall and gritted his teeth as he pictured throttling Jareth for what he did. Amy. Sweet, innocent Amy. He vowed to protect her and he failed and now that bastard might have raped her and it was all his fault. If he hadn't been so flippant and told Jareth he didn't want to see her again she would never have been taken. He felt sick to his stomach thinking about how frightened she must have been lying there immobile and he wondered if she would ever forgive him for leaving her at his mercy. He took deep breaths getting his temper back under control. Now was not the time to fly off the handle or engage in self-recrimination, he had to keep a level head if he was going to find Amy in time. He swallowed hard and pushed the last of his rage down deep inside him just as Namini came up beside him.

"Doctor, are you alright?" she asked.

"I will be. I just needed a moment to compose myself," he said as calmly as he could.

"I listened to the rest of the message from Jareth. He said he didn't engage with sexual intercourse with Amy."

She watched as the Doctor closed his eyes in relief.

"You love her, don't you?" she asked.

The Doctor said nothing but Namini nodded.

"She is dear to you," she said.

"Yes, she is. She trusts me and I betrayed that trust when I let my anger get the better of me and gave Jareth an opportunity to take her away. I can never forgive myself for that."

"No, it's not your fault, Doctor. Jareth would have taken her regardless. What he wants, he takes. My daughter is proof of that. That's why he needs to be stopped once and for all."

The Doctor nodded.

"Then if you'll allow me to choose some of your people, I want to head back to the castle before something else happens to Amy," he said to her.

"Of course, I'll tell my attendants to ready the horses and be ready for you to leave."

"Thank you, your highness," he said.

"Please, call me Namini."

The Doctor smiled and nodded. He kept the smile on his face until Namini walked away and then with a moaned "Amy," he lowered his head to his hands briefly and silently vowed to do whatever he could to rescue her and make amends for his stupidity.