The Doctor took this moment to step outside for a breath of fresh air, the noise from inside was almost deafening even with several layers of wall between him and the rest of the courtroom. He sat on the edge of one of the planters and gazed up at the still cloudless sky.
His peace was interrupted by a crowd being disgorged from the courtroom and the sea of creatures overwhelmed the square. Many of them, The Doctor noted, had frowns on their faces. Curious he stopped a squat blue creature, an Isess, and asked him what was going on.
Dismissed for the day, the Isess replied in his native tongue, which to the untrained ear sounded a lot like severe flatulence, reconvene first thing tomorrow morning.
Thanking the Isess for the information The Doctor waited until the wave of bodies stopped gushing out of the doors before making his way inside.
Approaching the judge s chamber he could hear the raised voices from inside. Hesitating he wondered if he should knock or just open the door. Deciding on the former he rapped on the wood a few times.
After about fifth attempt to be polite he just opened the door and stepped inside. The barristers both turned to glare at him until they saw who he was, then they quickly pretended to warmly welcome him.
What seems to be the problem? The Doctor asked noting the tension in the room and at least one or two red faces.
Neither barrister seemed inclined to answer him so the judge spoke up, the Princess clearly doesn t feel she was kidnapped, she did a pre-wedding flit and heaven knows it s not like the defendant could have carried her off.
And? The Doctor prompted.
We will need to sit down with the Prince and the royal family and see about either going for a lesser charge or even getting the charges dropped all together, The Master s barrister replied, if they persist in this they will come off looking silly and let s face it the Princess isn t exactly the best witness for the prosecution, he sneered as he looked over at the other barrister who was moping his forehead, the beads of sweat rolling down his face like rain.
If the prosecution had just prepared a bit better, done a bit of research instead of blindly diving in he continued.
Then the yelling began again, both barristers accusing the other of being crooked, filthy liars, and so on. The judge looked at The Doctor and rolled his eyes, if I had my way both of these idiots would be fined for contempt of court for wasting my time, he sighed.
Figuring his presence was not needed and his nerves were shot enough The Doctor quickly exited the room. He briefly thought about visiting The Master but decided he needed to get as far away from the court building as possible instead and made for the TARDIS.
Looking around the console room he figured a bit of fiddling with the wiring would help relax him, so he lifted a section of grating, fished out a tool box, slipped off his jacket and dove under the time rotor.
What seemed like mere minutes, but in actuality was four hours; The Doctor emerged from under the console. His hair looked like it had weathered an electrical storm, his clothes covered in grease and his face coated in soot of various origins, but he was smiling.
Wiping his dirty hands on his equally messy trousers he went in search of a cool shower and a hot cup of tea.