Evie's TARDIS Diary: The Fraxon Crystal

Age: 12

Location: The Ultonian Markets, Ultonia, Opiline Sector

Date: December 2071


Yesterday was my twelfth birthday. As a treat, Mum took me shopping. Well, I say it was a treat and that she took me shopping. In reality we went to the Ultonian Markets in search of a rare Fraxon Crystal that she'd heard was for sale there. She didn't tell me the real reason for our visit until we arrived and she led me straight to a shady alley where she was meeting her informant.

I don't like Raal. He's a Quixeen and everything about him, from his slightly oily blue skin to the series of grey-blue spikes which run from his forehead to the back of his neck to his cold pale orange eyes, freaks me out. I glared at him in distrust as he and Mum spoke in low voices and she pressed a credit stick into his clawed hand.

"Come on, honey." Mum said brightly as she turned away from him and he melted into the shadowy alley. "First stop Mr Tra'fleen's stall."

"I thought you said we were going to spend the day together, just us." I whined. "But now you're on one of your missions again. You're ALWAYS on a mission."

Mum laughed. "This is going to take ten minutes, max. I promise, sweetie."

I rolled my eyes and sighed theatrically as she walked quickly away. For a moment I considered refusing to follow her, but then I quickly changed my mind and broke into a run to catch up. She held out her hand and took mine, squeezing my fingers and pulling me with her as we wound in and out of clumps of tourists and shoppers milling about in the market.

"So… what is this thing we're looking for?" I asked, swinging my arm so that hers swung wildly as well. Mum laughed and moved her arm in time with mine. "Is it worth a lot? Is it dangerous?"

Glancing quickly at my excited face, Mum smirked. "It's both of those, darling. When we find it… oh! It'll make us rich!"

"What's the point in being rich, though, if we have to live in Stormcage?"

Mum sighed. "We won't always live in Stormcage, sweetie. Sooner or later they'll let me out. Then we'll need the money. I'm thinking we get a big house… with a swimming pool!"

"And a pony!" I joined in the game. It was something we'd played for as long as I could remember; the things we'll have when Mum gets out of prison.

"And a spa and a gym…"

"And a shooting gallery!" I almost shouted in my excitement. Mum shot me an amused look and spluttered with laughter.

"I don't think we should mention that addition to the Doctor! You know what he's like! I doubt he'd approve of a shooting gallery!"

"He won't be there anyway, so what does it matter?" I asked with a small twitch of my shoulders in a mini shrug. An odd expression crossed Mum's face, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. I shrugged again. "Can I have a tree house? And a pond with fish in? Oh! And one of those massive fish tanks… you know the ones that are a load of balls joined together so the fish can swim between them? And an attic bedroom? Aaaannndddd…"

Mum laughed. "You can have whatever you want, sweetie." She promised. Then she stopped and took a breath, fiddling with the gun holster at her hip underneath her coat. "Wait here… I need to go and have a word with Mr Tra'fleen. Stay here… DON'T wander off. I'll be two minutes."

Not wandering off is much more difficult than it sounds. I watched Mum for a couple of minutes. She'd already been more than two minutes, so I felt perfectly justified in moving away from the spot she'd left me to look at a jewellery stall a little to my right. I browsed through the assortment of rings and necklaces and earrings, feeling a little bored.

A shimmering stone on a length of black cord caught my eye. At first, it seemed to be white, with tiny shimmering particles in it. On closer inspection, however, I realised that it wasn't white at all. It seemed to be a clear sphere filled with shimmering smoke that swirled, settling for a moment before shifting again.

The more I stared at it, the more I wanted it.

A quick glance over my shoulder told me that the stall owner was still busy with a rather argumentative customer who seemed to want a refund for a faulty pair of earrings. From what she was saying the earrings had exploded and set her hair on fire. With a grin, I reached out quickly, grabbed the necklace and pocketed it. Innocently I continued to browse the rest of the jewellery on show, before pushing my hands into my pockets and wandering nonchalantly away.

I returned to the spot where Mum had left me just in time for her to run at me, grab hold of my hand and sprint away dragging me with her. She had a deep crimson cloth bag in her other hand and from the shouts that followed us through the market I assumed that she hadn't acquired it completely legally. I smirked; she couldn't say anything about my thieving… she was just as bad, if not worse!

"Why… are… we… running…?" I gasped as I tried to keep up with her.

She threw herself round a corner, dragging me with her. I almost stumbled but managed to regain my footing just in time. She shook her head slightly; not wasting her breath on speaking when there was running to be done. I rolled my eyes, but found that I didn't have the energy or breath to waste on arguing.

Finally we came to a halt and Mum struggled with her Vortex Manipulator and grabbed my hand. We whirled back through the Vortex to the corridor outside our cell. Rolling her eyes at the sound of the sirens starting up, Mum grabbed the phone out of its cradle on the wall.

"Yes, yes. River and Evie Song back in their cell… yes… I know… well we're back now. Oh… keep your hair on!" She said into the receiver. I grinned and reached up, going onto my tiptoes, for the key to our cell that was hidden ready for occasions such as this.

Once we were inside, Mum returned the key to its hiding place and came to sit beside me on her bed. She carefully undid the cords around the top of the cloth bag and pulled out a large lump of… rock. We both looked at it.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "I'm not an expert or anything, but aren't crystals supposed to be sparkly?"

"Yes." Mum let out a loud growl of infuriation. "This, obviously, isn't the Fraxon Crystal. It's a lump of rock. I am going to kill Raal."

I grinned, liking the sound of that threat. Then I put my hand in my pocket and pulled out the necklace with the strange stone on it. "Look what I got."

"What?" Mum's mouth dropped open. She grabbed the stone off me, examining it closely. Holding it up to the light, she turned her head slowly to stare at me. "Where did you get this?"

"Nicked it off that jewellery stall." I told her casually with a shrug.

"Bloody thief…" Mum muttered distractedly. "Bloody genius thief!"

I squealed in surprise as she threw her arms around me, laughing, and pulled me into a hug that lifted me clean off my feet.

"What?" I demanded wriggling until she released me.

"Evie Song… while, as your mother, I should be punishing you for stealing I am in fact going to congratulate you on your amazing ability to steal things that are worth a lot of money." She said laughing. I shook my head, still totally confused. "You, my love, have stolen the very same crystal that we were looking for."

"What? Th-that's the Fraxon Crystal?" I asked, my mouth falling open in surprise. Then I smirked, grabbing it out of her hand before she could stop me and dancing away across the cell. "So, by rights all the lovely money that we'll get from this is mine?"

Mum arched an eyebrow and advanced on me. I shrieked as she grabbed hold and started tickling me mercilessly. When I caught my breath and straightened up, the necklace was back in her possession.

"You're only twelve… everything you own is mine anyway." She said with a wink.

I curled up beside her on the bunk as she studied the crystal closely. With her free hand she stroked my hair gently and I snuggled up closer.

"Another advantageous day out, wouldn't you agree?" She asked, smiling down at me.

I grinned. "Always."


A/N: This chapter was written in response to a prompt from 1945, who said that she would, 'love to see River and Evie have a day together, preferably when Evie was very young.'

If anyone else has any prompts just let me know ;)