Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters, places, plots...Yeah you get the picture.

Chapter 14-The Accident and the Ball

People stood talking nervously, dressed up in dingy, moth-eaten suits and dresses in the large, ornate ballroom on the Valiant, the sixties disco ball sent glittering shadows dancing across the walls and hard wood floor, there was a table piled high with party food, both childish and sophisticated, and drink. All were waiting in dread for the arrival of the Earth's leaders.

Suddenly the doorman stood and everyone held their breath anxiously.
"Our Lord and Master, and the First Lady of the Earth," the man announced, even his voice sounded shaky. Silence filled the room. And then the Master and Rose entered. The handsome Time Lord walked in dressed in a smart, black tuxedo, his hair near and his smart shoes polished to a high shine; beside him his wife wore a blood-red, strapless dress covered by a floor length, loose, matching coat. With a scathing glance the Master looked over the throng,
"I though this was a party. Where's the music? Where's the dancing?" As soon as the words had left his mouth the party began again, people made sure they spoke extra loud, laughed twice as hard and danced faster to make sure that their rulers were happy. With a pleased grin the Master bowed to his wife, rested a hand on her left hip as she weaved an arm about his neck and they began to jive playfully along to the booming tones of pop and jazz and other random genres that appeared on the playlist.

After ten minutes of intense boogying Rose whispered lovingly in her partner's ear, he reluctantly let her go but his eyes remained on her as she moved gracefully through the mass, she headed towards Tish Jones, who was stood inconspicuously in the corner, not moving a muscle or saying a word, a silver tray held aloft in her hand. Rose did not say a word; she only glared cruelly as Tish lowered the tray and allowed her to take a flute of dry, crisp champagne.

Once she had a glass Rose turned her back on the other young woman, not even saying thank-you, and headed straight back to her beloved, a gleeful smile replacing her harsh scowl. Suddenly something happened, so quickly that no-one really saw it before it was too late... A young girl who was trying her hardest to dance on a sprained ankle backed straight into the First Lady of Planet Earth, sending champagne everywhere particularly down the front of her expensive and beautiful gown, the crystal flute fell to the marble floor and shattered into a thousand glittering pieces at their feet. There was a startled and terrified gasp from the standers-by and instantly the room fell silent, you could have heard a pin drop, the music and movement stopped. It was as if someone had frozen time. The brunette stepped forward, her eyes wide and fearful, she could not believe what she had just done, how she could have been so stupid? Stretching out her bony arm the teenager attempted pitifully to wipe the sodden, stained material of her Mistress's dress, but to no avail, she spoke hurriedly, half-crazed as she did so, her voice shaking with utter horror,
"I'm so sorry my lady, so very, very sorry. Here let me...Oh do forgive me your worship. It was a silly accident, sorry. I am really, really sorry." A pathway cleared through the hushed observers, it could only mean one thing; the Master was coming.

Turning from Rose in a flurry of panic the young thing stared with an expression of dread at the approaching figure of the Time Lord, his face was blank and emotionless and unnervingly calm, it scared the girl even more.
"Oh my Master, please, please forgive me. I didn't mean to. I didn't know..."screwing her eyes tight shut she fell heavily to her knees before him, hardly noticing the sharp shards of glass cutting into her flesh and painting the wood crimson. When the Master spoke his tone was kind and gentle,
"What's your name?"
"Lisa," the girl answered obediently, her breath hissing out between her clenched teeth as she flicked open her eyes, praying to God that she was not imagining the sound of pity in his voice. With a strange, unreadable smile the Master asked politely,
"Pardon?" Lisa's eyes drifted down to his hands, which were fiddling restlessly in his pockets; she swallowed down the bile rising sickeningly in her throat, she knew what he kept there, and it was NOT pity of any sort.
"Lisa Master."
"Now Lisa, it seems you've caused a little mess, am I right?" His eyes glided to the regal figure of his wife, their eyes met in a silent exchange of words and feelings, he gave her a supportive smile, promising without breathing a word that he would make everything all right, that he would reclaim her dignity for her in the most effective way possible. Lisa gaped, her words not coming out properly in her mouth,
"N...Yes Master. But it was an accident, I swear."
With a crooked grin the Master cocked his head to one side and stared hard at her,
"Oh I bet a nice, pretty woman like you doesn't swear. Bad habit."
Scowling Lisa raised her eyes to his face, but still avoided eye-contact, like looking into those hardened orbs would mean certain and ever-lasting death.
"What? No..." she stopped, telling the Master he was wrong was not the best path to take in such a circumstance, quickly she changed her mind, "I mean..."
"Maybe I can help you break it, would you like that Lisa?" There was a terrifying hint of spite behind the musical layer of his voice. Lisa's mind was blurred and over-flowing with horror. She was going to die. She was going to die before she'd fallen in love. She was going to die without telling her family how much she loved them. With a large sigh the girl tried to calm herself, it did not work, her fear was evident in her voice and it annoyed her, she wanted to die before this maniac with a proud smile on her face and a nasty insult on her lips.
"Yes Master," she stuttered. The Master nodded curtly,
"Good." He pulled out that familiar tube, holding it firmly in his hands and killed her in a second without a shred of remorse or sympathy. On the other side of the room the Doctor frowned and turned his back as a guard swiftly dragged the pretty girl's corpse from the room, around him the silent crowd also looked away, sick looks on their faces and the occasional scream uttering from people's lips.

"There, no more swearing from little Lisa," he said proudly, returning the laser screwdriver to his pocket, he glared at the still crowd surrounding him, "Get back to dancing or drinking or whatever you were doing."

Then he turned to his wife, who's bright smile was enough to make his entire day better, she was clearly so grateful for his solution to her problem, "Are you okay?"
"My knight in shining armour," she breathed sweetly, wrapping her arm around his neck and pulling him close up against her, she pecked him adoringly on his lips, talking against the soft, warm flesh of his mouth, "I'm gonna go and get changed."
"I'll wait here," the Master said, kissing her once more and then allowing her to walk away but still holding her hand until he couldn't any longer. She disappeared swiftly. The Master looked around tiredly, watching people dancing and eating and chatting, but always looking over their shoulders cautiously, no one felt safe anymore. He smiled slightly; it was just what he wanted.

He felt someone's eyes boring into his back, so he turned to glare back at them and discovered that the observer was none other than Francine Jones. Strutting confidently across the dance-floor, the revellers parting to make way for their leader, the Time Lord headed towards the woman,
"What!? Don't you agree with my policies Mrs Jones," he jested light-heartedly, "You were once such help to me Francine," he paused, a scowl stretching across his face, "Now you're just a nuisance." Francine tried to bite back her harsh remarks but it was no use, she couldn't hold her tongue any longer.
"That was before I realised you were a filthy, murdering megalomaniac." The Master simply laughed.
"Thank you."
"She was just a child..." Suddenly Tish appeared beside the pair, grabbing her mother by the arm and yanking her away hard, her face was lined with fear and hate, the Master found it quite amusing.
"Mum! Can't you keep your mouth shut?" As Tish pulled her mum away the Master grinned broadly, shouting after them in a threatening tone,
"Your daughter's a clever girl! Follow her advice unless you want to end up like...whatever her name was," he lifted his head up and cried out to the whole crowd which once again fell silent for the Master,
"That's a tip for all of you!"

He looked around again. The angry, wrinkled face of the Doctor caught his eye immediately, he walked over to the other Time Lord with a mocking smile, "Hullo Doctor! How are you enjoying my party?"
"You killed her," the Doctor replied sharply.
"She hurt Rose," the Master argued harshly, "You'd have done the same once."
Stubbornly the Doctor shook his head, denying the allegation whole-heartedly, "Never!"
With a shrug the Master gave another small smirk, he didn't care; he knew Rose loved his chivalrous nature, "Then I guess that just proves I love her more," either way the Master won this argument.
"What does she see in you?" The old man wrinkled his nose in disgust and spat the words venomously.
"Everything you couldn't give her," an uncomfortable silence fell between the two enemies, "Still no news of Miss Martha," the Master continued, changing the subject of the conversation so he could carry on having painful, little digs at the Doctor, "Skulking down there on that desolate planet among that pitiful race."
"You should be careful what you say."
"Or what?"
With an expression that was half grimace, half smile the Doctor replied darkly,
"You're precious wife is one of those pitiful humans."
The Master frowned viciously and crossed his arms rebelliously across his chest, his eyes cold and distant,
"Rose is special and she knows it, I'm not talking about her when I speak of them," he said the final word with such force and disgust the Doctor thought that his ears were burning. With another small, partial smile, the Doctor spoke again, determined to make the Master's life as uncomfortable as he possibly could,
"They elected you."
With that sentence the Master laughed abruptly, his eyes creased at the corners until he was nearly crying with joy, oh those humans they were so stupid.
"Exactly," he chuckled as he managed to get his laughter under control, "Stupid apes."

"The First Lady of the Earth," announced the doorman again, his voice even shakier than before after the incident with Lisa. As soon as the words left the man's lips the Doctor found himself alone again and the Master joined his wife who was now clothed in an equally as stunning gown as before, this time it was a golden, strapless floor-length dress, a diamond necklace hung at her throat and her flaxen tresses fell in a shining cascade around her glowing face. She truly looked as if she was made of gold.
"Better?"
"Much, thanks," she replied courteously, nodding her head in support of her answer unconsciously. A waiter passed them nervously; he plucked two large plump strawberries from the tray and popped one into his mouth. Then he did the same for her, his fingers gently brushing the sensitive skin of her lips and sending shivers through her body as the red, sticky juice stained his fingertips like blood.
"Were you just talkin' to the doctor?" She spoke inelegantly between bites of the delicious fruit.
"Yep."
"Anythin' interesting?"
"Nope. He's duller than I remember, and I think the aging process has affected his brain. His IQ must have dropped at least 150 points!" He offered her a playful smile, "If I ever get to that state darling, promise me you'll do a mercy killing." Rose grinned,
"And how's work goin' on down below?"
"All to schedule, if humans are good at one thing, it's building weapons." Rose chuckled lightly, as she squeezed his hand tightly showing him she was behind him one hundred percent, he knew anyway.
"And ours are the ultimate weapons."With a look of complete and utter adoration the Master looked down at the face of his wife, a proud smile tugged at the corner of his mouth and burst onto his face as his eyes clouded with love and affection.
"You're amazing," he murmured softly, and rested his chin upon her soft, golden hair.
"So are you," Rose replied quickly and truthfully, her eyes pouring out her love and adoration, as he clutched her protectively and possessively against his chest, the Doctor glared at them all the while.
"I know."
Rose hit him teasingly on the arm, as she giggled light-heartedly and rolled her eyes in an exaggerated fashion,
"Time Lords," she groaned playfully before he pulled her gently onto the dance-floor amongst the other quiet revellers.

They had already started to dance when he asked her,
"Fancy a dance."
"Have I ever said no?" Was her joyous answer, as she beamed at him, her face seeming to light up the room better than any spot-light or electric lamp ever could. She was his sun, he depended on her for all the warmth and love and life in his existence, if she was gone he would be no more, and that was slightly frightening, especially for a Time Lord.

So the couple danced, and danced, and danced for hour's non-stop. Around them people began to yawn and groan with exhaustion but all knew that stopping before the Master and his partner had left was a certain death sentence. But as the night wore on even Rose began to show the strains of time, and finally wrapped in the loving and safe embrace of her lover and soul mate the young, human woman drifted off to sleep, her feet still moving sub-consciously as he moved her slowly and carefully across the ballroom floor, as if she were made of glass and would break at the slightest jolt. Looking down into her face the Master saw her pale, golden tinted eyelids closed over her lively, brown eyes and watched as she uttered soft little whimpers in her sleep, he smiled lovingly, sweeping her up into his arms and cradling her like an innocent, defenceless child against his body. He turned to face the crowd of onlookers who were still trying to keep dancing despite their aching bodies and sleep-filled minds; he was sour-faced as he barked orders at them all ruthlessly,
"Party's over." Walking towards the large, ornate doors the Master leaned towards one of the armed guards stood on patrol there and gave him a sharp order concerning the next stage of the night,
"Make sure they do their jobs properly." And with that he left carrying Rose in his arms as the rest of the group was left to tidy up the room until it was immaculate, no matter how long it took.

In the safe and familiar confines of their large, hidden bedroom the Master laid his wife down on their bed and undressed her, sliding the rich garments gently from the well-known curves and lines of her body, memorizing every inch of bare flesh as if it was the first time he had ever laid eyes on her. Once he had removed her clothes, chucking them carelessly into a black bag that was to be left outside the next day for the cleaner, he carefully (so as not to wake her) slipped her long, loose silk nightgown onto her frame and then covered her with the sheet lovingly, smoothing back a few stray strands of hair from her face and caressing her cheek warmly with his hand. Swiftly he took off his own suit; it joined her dress in the cleaning sack, and then also clambered beneath the sheets of the king-size bed beside her. Feeling his warm body and recognizable aura next to her Rose shuffled over and snuggled into his side, draping an arm across his bare torso as he placed his arm over her shoulder,
"Do you love me my Master?" She muttered sleepily. He gave a tired but toothy grin in the darkness of the room,
"You know I do," he said in a gentle yet firm manner, "Now rest, you're exhausted."
"I love ya too," she muttered tiredly, her last words before she drifted off to sleep.

He stroked her forehead, humming to her softly as she fell into a peaceful slumber. On the other hand, being a Time Lord meant his need for sleep was much less than hers, so he lay there, his arms about her and watched her sleep, taking in every millimetre of skin, every single hue of her shining hair and every note that whistled from between her pink, half-open lips. He lay there completely entranced by her until the sun rose in the heavens and she woke to his happy, calm face and rested mind which was full of her and her alone.

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