A.N: Hey folks! Sorry about the delay in updating. Had first of a dozen exams Saturday, now just have two weeks to study before go through the main body of them. Still, thanks must go to….EbonyBeach (thanks for the heads up, hope u like this!), pinkmarshmello( Sorry about loosing you, but it was nessecary. Would have been funny if he had, but this is a PG rated fic, thanks :P), freak and proud (good luck with your exams!), jane (Weetbix are the ultimate wonderfood!), Laseri (You'll just have to wait and see… Still sorry it's going so slow, but I'm setting up heaps of things here, and they need to be done in the greater scheme of things, but action is coming in a chappie or two, so hold on!), Joshwales (Right, shall try to up the family), and Dory Shotgun (All shall be revealed in good time, and good luck!)
Ah well, this goes out to all those slogging through the examination treadmill-may fortune watch over you and guide you on your way!
Until next time, cya!
Thought of the week: Today is the first day of the rest of your life.
The Greatest Summer of All Time, Chapter 7.
Potential.
By Starlite1
Copious amounts of tea later, Jack and the Doctor were becoming sick of the massive interior of the library. Desperate to get away from the titanic stack of books suggested by the TARDIS, So far, none of them had given them anything of any use.
Exasperated, Jack was browsing for something other than the painfully irksome text that had occupied the past eight hours. Abruptly, his eyes were caught by a piece of parchment left lying upon the shelf. Intrigued, he picked up the aged document, marvelling at the intricate calligraphy swirling and morphing over the page, ensnaring a verse within it.
"Hey Doctor?" Jack asked the Doctor nonchalantly, "What's a Sage?"
"Sage? Scholar, Philosopher… What have you found?" He asked.
Jack shrugged, "Just found this. Sounds a bit like a prophecy."
"Well, let's hear it then." The Doctor said, folding his arms across his chest.
Jack cleared his throat:
"Brought here from forgotten land,
Await the day the Tempest stand
Upon the shores of Aldonreigh,
The only one to heed our cry.
To her right, Protector will stand.
Flame remains eternally at hand.
The Sage will stand to her left,
Of courage they shan't be bereft.
Only when the four unite
Shall it end our darkest night,
Thus, Take heed in times bereft,
When naught but hope is all that's left.
Await the coming of daybreak
Following after in her wake. "
The Doctor sighed, "Nice, but what does it have to do with the Z'keth?"
"You're the brainy one here, Doc, not me." Jack replied with a shrug.
He was prevented from replying by the entire room pitching heavily starboard. Instantly, the books went careening on the floor, mercifully remaining separated, whist both the room's occupants were sent sprawling on the ground.
"We've landed!" The Doctor exclaimed, sitting up.
Jack groaned, "Apparently so… I'm guessing that shouldn't have happened."
"Right in one." He told his companion, hauling himself up, "Let's see what's happened."
Accepting the proffered hand, Jack righted himself, and the pair dashed to the control room.
IOIOIOIOI
"What was that!" Anita demanded, dropping the book to the grass, head snapping toward the twins.
The exchanged a look over the top of Mordrid, who turned towards his mistress in annoyance and curiosity, a liana snaking out to attempt to entwine her fingers.
Barely noticing the fact, Josie shrugged worriedly, "No clue. We need to find out."
Abandoning their activities, they sprinted out of the conservatory, swerving through the kindly re-arranged corridors. Turning the corner near the kitchen, the troublesome trio found themselves nearly colliding headlong with Jack and the Doctor.
"Oi! Watch it!" Josie snapped, tripping over her feet.
Resuming their breakneck pace, the Doctor retorted, "Watch it yourself!"
Their feet pounded on the grating of the Control room like a thunderstorm. Rose and Jackie spun around at the sound, shocked at the cacophony their personal stampede created.
"What happened!" Rose asked, before the Doctor could open his mouth, " I can't see what could have made her land!"
Instantly, he and Jack were at the console, figures and statistics flying rapidly between the trio, the looks of puzzlement only increasing. Buttons were pressed and depressed with no result.
The Doctor groaned, leaning his head on Rose's shoulder, "Guess the only thing we can do is to poke our heads out the door and see where we are… the TARDIS obviously wants us to be here, only question is why…"
Turning to the youngsters, he indicated the door, "If you want, it's yours."
Automatically, the three grasped hands, and walked down the walkway. Using his free hand, Adrian gingerly pried open the door. Their noses were instantly assaulted by a stench unlike they had ever encountered before. Flinching slightly, they
instinctively drew breath, before simultaneously stepping out onto the damp, mossy ground. They glanced at each other for reassurance, the shock of what they had just done washing over them.
Gazing over the valley spread out in front of them, their attention was instantly focused on the huge smoking fires on the other edge of the valley.
"Burning the dead." The Doctor said quietly behind them, "Plague. Many of them never stood a chance. Part of the risks of the Middle ages. They burnt the dead to try and protect the living. Still it managed to take a third of Europe with it before it was finished."
Anita looked at it, sorrow in her eyes, "Why?"
The Doctor merely shrugged, "It just happened that an opportunistic virus became lucky, then rose to become one of the most deadly killers on the planet. Only question is why we're here. Now, might I suggest we give you all a shot, and some more suitable clothing."
Josie's eyes went wide, "You mean-?"
"Well, if you went waltzing in there with your jeans and tank top, chances are that you'd be burnt at the stake as a witch, and if you don't have a shot, there's a chance you could get the plague. For all the efficiency of Gallifreyan biology, even a Time Lord's immune system can't stand up to it without some assistance."
Involuntarily, Josie shuddered, before resignedly returning inside.
IOIOIOIOIOI
Anita couldn't help but giggle at the dark mutterings coming from the back of the closet, as numerous objects were thrown unceremoniously to the ground. Obviously the period costume was proving to be a challenge to her dear friend.
"Arrgh!" Josie screamed, storming out with her dress unceremoniously tangled around her torso, "I can't get into this stupid thing!"
Calmly raising an eyebrow, she replied, "You've never had a way with dresses. You need a hand?"
Shooting an icy stare at her best friend, Josie resignedly accepted her fate. Twisting the heavy folds of fabric around the right way, she managed to pull it down to sit properly.
"Turn around, I need to do it up." Anita said.
Begrudgingly, Josie spun around, muttering, "I don't see why they have to be so uncomfortable!"
Yanking the drawstrings in annoyance, Anita demanded, "What's gotten into you today? You've been snarling at everyone, you're snappish, short tempered, and damned well not that pleasant to be around."
Josie shrugged, "It doesn't matter."
"Yes it does."
"No it doesn't."
She looked at him in exasperation, "Fine, keep your secrets."
IOIOIOIOIOI
They were prepared for the stench that assaulted their noses this time. Clustering together next to the TARDIS whilst the Doctor locked up, cloaks were pulled tighter around their bodies in an attempt to escape the wind that snarled around their legs, blasting off the lake below them to howl through the valley in an icy furore. Below them lay a small hamlet, where people in dirty, coarse sackcloth and hessian bustled about their daily lives, heedless of the strangers atop the hill.
"All ready to go then?" The Doctor asked, unconsciously adjusting his leather jacket before grasping his wife's hand.
Josie stared at him in shock, "What about period costume! If you're going out wearing that blasted old thing, then why do we have to endure these!"
Rose replied in his stead, "He has the uncanny ability to blend in. Don't worry, I gave him a hard time about it as well."
"Just wait until Ancient Egypt!" Jack promised, a mischievous gleam in his eyes, "Now come on, or else we'll loose him."
Begrudgingly, Josie followed the steadily retreating form of her father down the hill, and into the hamlet.
IOIOIOIOIOIOI
Senka's blade sliced through the air, his feet dancing nimbly over the cobbles of the courtyard, parrying, dodging and hacking at invisible enemies as his mind filtered upstairs to where his mother and the witch Megan were attempting to heal her of the horrid fever that had taken her close to midnight. Now, the entire house was on edge, awaiting some news, good or bad as to their progress.
Exasperated from waiting, he furiously stabbed at the air, wishing for something to happen to break the endless tension that had entered the hamlet. Lunging as he pirouetted around, a huge jolt ricocheted up his arm as his sword halted abruptly. Instantly he looked to the end of his sword, to find a pair of icy blue orbs staring calmly at him.
"It would serve you well to watch where you place your weapon, sir." She stated, deftly flicking the sword away from his stunned hand, sending it clattering across the courtyard, "You may end up injuring some unfortunate person."
Instantly his mouth went dry, looking at the girl who stood before him, "How-?"
She shrugged, "Quick reflexes."
"I'm the best swordsman in the village." He said in astonishment, "And you stopped me…"
"I apologise for interrupting your training, sir. If you will excuse me, I must find my family." She turned around, heading back towards the archway.
Suddenly snapped out of the spell, he shouted, "Wait! May I have your name, at least?"
She paused, turning her head, "Josephine. And you are…"
"Senka. Tam Senka." He answered hurriedly.
With a nod she said, "Well, until later then, Tam Senka." And she was gone.
Alone once more, he stumbled over to where his sword lay on the ground. Gingerly picking it up and examining its length, he couldn't help but shake his head, noting the dents the girl had caused. The thought of her gave him pause. There was something strange about her, and he would be damned if he'd known what it was.
Knowing that he was far too distracted to attempt more practice, he stowed his weapon in the armoury, before heading into the corridors once more.
IOIOIOI
Senka's mother was slumped against one of the tables in the main hall, her jaded eyes dark from lack of slumber, her dark curls laying limp against her back. At the sound of footsteps, she was barely able to gather enough strength to raise her head before she collapsed back onto the table.
Wincing at seeing her in such a state, Senka sat down beside her, inquiring, "Mamma, why don't you go to bed?"
Blearily opening an eye, she mumbled, "It's the middle of the day…Can't. The Mistress needs help."
Senka sighed, realising the futility of arguing with her, "I just met the most interesting person in the practice yard." He remarked, "Didn't seem to be from around here. Said her name was Josephine…"
Sitting bolt upright, she stared across at him, "now that is a name I haven't heard in many a summer…Where did you say that you met her?"
"Down in the exercise yards. Came out of nowhere, and stopped my blade dead. Never thought I would see the day…"He said bleakly.
"Enough bemoaning the events. You are not past twelve, so it was bound to happen sooner or later. As for the girl, I have a funny feeling we shall be seeing more of her in the near future. Now-"
Suddenly a girl came sprinting into the room, her forehead damp with perspiration
"Lady Lucy, the Mistress-!" she gasped.
Instantly she was on her feet, "Speak, girl!"
"She's gone."
IOIOIOIOIOI
A.N: So what do you think? Please read and review, and I'm sorry if it seems a bit slow, but it is necessary in the greater scheme of things. Anyway, Reviews are even better than sugar straight from the sugar bow, constructive criticism is extremely helpful, and flames shall be used for bassoon repairs (You'd be surprised how handy flames are when it comes to rickety instruments…) So until next time, keep smilin'!