Chapter 25: Breakfast in Arendelle
Madame Vastra sat at the long dining table currently being used for breakfast, she flicked casually through the newspaper. It confused her the lack of any crime being reported on. Were they too afraid to talk about it? Did crime happen at all here? She suddenly realised how bored she'd become if they ever decided to move to the crimeless Kingdom of Arendelle. She wrinkled her nose at the thought, the criminals roaming the streets of London satiated her Silurian dietary needs. It was an ideal place; and with that she pushed the thought of moving out of her mind completely. As she flicked the next page over an absolutely horrendous whistling sound interrupted the calm bestowed on the breakfast table. Vastra's sharp blue eyes looked up to Jenny sat opposite her, a slice of toast half raised to her mouth. She nodded quickly towards the door before biting down attempting very badly to look as though she hadn't noticed the Time Lord's horrifically out of tune entrance. The pair watched him whistle his way down the whole length of the table picking up bits and pieces from the spread and piling them high onto a plate he'd scooped up on his way. Vastra winced at his appalling attempt at a tune, she was completely grateful that after picking up the entire jug of orange juice, he whistled his way back out of the room. As their eyes met again Jenny raised her eyebrows with a knowing grin and continued to finish off her slice of toast.
"What's gotten into him?" Strax piped up from behind the stack of food almost hiding him.
"I don't think you want to know Strax," Vastra replied licking the tip of her finger and turning another page over.
Jenny giggled at Strax's indignant frown at not being let in on the humour. The girl reached for the remaining jug of orange juice before the Doctor returned to retrieve that too, "I'll tell you later," she promised the puzzled Sontaran. Over the top of Vastra's newspaper she could see the woman's mouth curl into a smirk; it would be a conversation well worth listening in on.
"Hey!" the voice startled Vastra. The women both looked to the Princess who had thrown herself into the seat beside the Silurian.
"Mornin'," Jenny greeted her nudging the juice back into the centre of the table. Anna beamed between the pair before remembering the reason why she had interrupted their quiet morning.
"I was wondering, have either of you seen my sister? Only, she's supposed to be, oh you know, running the Kingdom," she laughed nervously before lowering her voice and leaning in closer, "There are several annoyed Kings waiting for her in the throne room and I have no idea where she is"
The women glanced at each other before Jenny took point, "We 'aven't seen 'er, 'ave we darlin'?"
Vastra shook her head, "You may wish to check with the Doctor my dear" Jenny's eyes averted sharply down to her glass of orange juice, she tried desperately not to grin at Vastra's shameless act of ensuring that the pair were found out.
Anna stood quickly, "Why didn't I think of that?! Thank you, thank you so much. Bye!"
Jenny slyly looked up at Vastra, "You're becomin' a right mischievous ol' lizard" The Silurian smirked and returned to reading the paper.
Completely forgetting all her manners Anna barged straight into the Tardis. She froze at the sight. She was greeted by the Doctor and Elsa, sat at a table that she didn't remember seeing the last time she'd been in the Tardis. A pile of food was stacked on a single plate in the centre along with a jug of orange juice that looked suspiciously like the one she'd seen on the breakfast table a moment earlier. The Doctor sat back in his seat and grinned at her, he was fully dressed bar his usual tweed jacket, his braces hung loosely down each side of his chair. Elsa, sat opposite him was still wearing her nightgown. Anna stared open mouthed at her.
"It's not what it looks like," the Queen stood up quickly.
"Yes it is, it's exactly what it looks like," the Doctor smiled, he waved his arms at the spread, "It looks like breakfast, would you like to join us Anna?"
"I… Elsa, you have our neighbours in the throne room waiting to speak with you about trade. Remember? That's today, like, right now" The Queen's eyes widened in horror, how could she have forgotten?
"Stall them, I'll be there soon"
The Doctor sat quietly with a smile across his lips as both sisters dashed out of his Tardis.
"Not funny"
Interruptions seemed to be becoming a regular occurrence that morning for the Victorian women, the Doctor slid into the seat beside Vastra, "I'm sure I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about Doctor," she replied folding the paper and setting it down on the table. He patted the table top with an unidentifiable rhythm as he looked around, Jenny's guilty expression as she busied herself with stacking the dishes around her made him grin.
"Well then," he turned to the Silurian already watching him carefully, "We have a matter to deal with," the raised eyebrows he received urged him to continue, "I've figured out what happened, sort of, nearly, I'm going to have to do some digging to get confirmation though," he beckoned the gang into a small huddle across the table, "Best to keep it between the four of us eh?"
"I hope that this is all some extravagant hoax Doctor"
He looked at the Silurian, the disappointment slowly washed over his face, "Well no, I mean," he looked to the data on the monitor, "The readings are there"
"It's ridiculous. You have no real evidence," Vastra ignored the Doctor's childish pointing at the monitor full of readings. In her world, anomalies on screens were not hard evidence, nor were they considered the basis for a full blown investigation.
"Ma'am, sorry, but I don't understand"
"The Doctor caused the opening between worlds by changing a fixed point, the intruders taking the form of the Queen's parents have died at sea. The universe my dear, couldn't distinguish between them, assuming that time had corrected itself causing the rift to become sealed," the Doctor nodded along happily with Vastra's simplified explanation, "That does not explain though Doctor why there are signals from these people coming from inside the void space"
"Well that's why I need to go and see for myself. I need to see which ones survived, in theory it could be either. If they're from our world then I can save them, I can bring them back through"
"But they have to be from the opposing reality. What makes you think that the humans from our world could get into the void space so easily by themselves?"
Madame Vastra hissed at the Doctor as he tapped her nose knowingly, "I don't think they did get in there by themselves. I think, they were thrown in"
Jenny looked at Strax and then shook her head, "Sorry Doctor, but you've lost me. You're sayin' tha' 'ighly advanced versions of the Queen's parents 'ave been daft enough to die at sea?"
"Yes and in the process caused a fixed point in our world to be repaired"
"An' you're sayin' tha' our versions are stuck between realities?"
"Yes!" the Doctor pointed eagerly at two readings on screen. He scrunched his nose at Vastra, why couldn't she follow things as well as her wife did?
"So it's a rescue mission!" Strax declared brandishing his blaster around, "Sir, I suggest a full frontal attack with acid mines, high powered grenades and laser monkeys"
"That's the spirit Straxy boy!" the Doctor noogied the Sontaran playfully. Vastra's glare deflated the cheery moment and had him stood before her like a naughty child.
"No," she said flatly.
"What? Why?" the Doctor was visibly wounded by her refusal.
"Jenny and I will not be accompanying you on your foolish errand Doctor" The Time Lord was about to protest but Vastra wasn't finished, "You know what's out there, old friend. I will not put Jenny in such danger. Shame on you Doctor, you of all people should know better" The Silurian was shocked when her wife grabbed her arm firmly. Vastra's glare pierced Jenny almost as sharply as she assumed Vastra's sword might have. The girl was taken aback but it was too late to back track now.
"Ma'am, if I may? These people 'ave been very kind to us. Lettin' us stay 'ere and lookin' after us. If there was ever a way to pay back their kindness, wouldn't this be it?"
Vastra's expression softened as she considered her darling Jenny. The Doctor watched the change in Vastra. He was amazed at how well Jenny could tame the wild Silurian, lulling her into calmness and reason, "The void space is a dangerous place my dear, far worse than anything in your darkest nightmares. It is not a place that you should ever find yourself"
"I'd go to get you back if you was bleedin' well trapped in there"
"Jenny…"
"You can do as you please Ma'am. But I'll be 'elpin' the Doctor an' I'll be returnin' to work Monday mornin' sharp"
Vastra looked to the Doctor's smug expression, he turned away when he saw her blue eyes staring at him. It seemed that on this occasion her hands were tied, she'd sworn to protect Jenny whatever the cost. Where Jenny went, she'd have to follow, however dangerous, whether she wanted to or not. She was highly annoyed with the girl and yet somehow the fact that Jenny had stood up to her like that made her heart race and feel love for her all over again, "We'll need to be able to protect ourselves," she sighed at last.
"I'll fetch the swords," Jenny declared happy to have brought Vastra around.
"She's got you," the Doctor smiled from plotting the flight path on the console. Vastra hissed irritably at him and stormed off to sit beneath console by herself; this was only going to end one way; and that was badly.