An: Moving swiftly on
28th December 1887
By the time they'd reached the Indian Ocean, Jenny felt she was beginning to gain her sea legs. She no longer felt sick or giddy and walked with confidence about the deck. Vastra had insisted on playing the elderly widow, walking arm in arm with Jenny, pretending to lean on her heavily as if she had difficulty walking.
"Otherwise you'll have to walk behind me or whatever it is apes insist people of different classes do. It's so wearisome." Vastra sighed.
"Tellin' me." Jenny agreed wholeheartedly.
30th December 1887
A storm struck not 2 days out into the Indian Ocean and Vastra felt quite alarmed at how white Jenny went at the sight and sound of it.
She peered anxiously through the window of their new cabin, a small round porthole affair, at the rain lashing down. She tried not to be afraid as the ship creaked and shuddered under the battering it was taking but failed miserably.
A bang woke her in the middle of the night and she darted upright.
"Vastra?" she whispered but the Silurian was still asleep beside her. "Vastra!" she shook her awake.
"Mmf. What is it?"
"There was a bang."
Vastra listened carefully for a moment. "Are you sure you weren't dreaming?"
"No. It was that what woke me up!"
Vastra sighed. "I'm sure it was nothing Jenny."
The bang came again. Jenny gasped and grabbed Vastra's arm.
"D'yer think the ship is sinking?" she whispered.
"Well if it is, be comforted, we'll go down together." Vastra grinned sleepily at her, receiving a very unimpressed glare in return. Realising the young woman was genuinely terrified at the prospect she gently pulled Jenny into her arms. "Don't worry. Silurians are very buoyant."
"Well thas all fine fer you!" Jenny snapped.
"Can you not swim? Or at the very least float?"
"No!"
"Hm. I'll have to teach you when we return."
"An' what about now?!" there was a flash of lightning.
Vastra felt Jenny's heartbeat racing, heard her breathing turn ragged.
"We gotta get out!" Jenny scrambled over Vastra, half falling out the bunk, staggering to her feet as the ship pitched.
"Jenny!" Vastra followed her as she made for the door. "If we go out on deck now we'll be washed overboard!" she hissed, holding Jenny from behind as the young woman struggled. She was baffled as to what had caused this. She let her go as a roll of thunder sounded and stood in front of the door to block her from going out on deck. Jenny paced around the small room like a caged animal.
"Lemme out. Lemme out!" she yelled.
"Alright." Vastra said slowly, moving to leave the exit clear but Jenny didn't dash out as she'd expected, just stared at Vastra, breathing heavily.
"I don' like storms."
"So I can see."
"They put me in there an' it was night an' there was a storm."
"A basement?" Vastra recalled Jenny's dislike of them. Her eyes flicked around their cabin. It wasn't the roomiest of accommodations.
"The pokehole."
For some reason the name made Vastra shiver. "You mentioned them, at the reformatory…"
"A priesthole. A pokehole. It was where you got put if you were bad. A small hole they kept you in fer days without food."
Vastra hissed at the idea.
"When I were at the reformatory I knew these two girls see? An' they were…together like. An' they were me friends. Only they got found out. The Mistress said they'd been sent off to the asylum fer bein' like that. An' when I asked 'er why they'd got sent to the asylum fer it, she locked me in there. Tol' me it'd teach me decency. On'y that night there was a storm an'…"
Vastra took a step towards her, torn between wanting to offer comfort and not wanting to scare her. Jenny solved the problem for her by flinging her arms round Vastra, squeezing the Silurian tightly enough to cause a slight 'oof'.
"Remind me when we return," Vastra said icily as she gently hugged Jenny in return, "to visit the place."
Jenny sniffed. "Why, you gettin' 'ungry?"
"Well it's been a long voyage!" It got a weak laugh out of Jenny at least and the little ape moved away to curl up in bed again. Reformatories sounded as bad as the circus, she mused, climbing into bed beside her. Apes were barbarians to do that to their own young. She waited until she heard Jenny's breathing even out before allowing herself to fall asleep once more.
31st December 1887
"There. The storm is over and the ship quite intact." Vastra said when Jenny woke the next morning. She gestured out the window where she was standing looking at the ocean.
"Yeah well, you'd get scared if you'd ever bin inna pokehole durin' a storm." Jenny grumbled, fighting her way out of the covers.
"I have no doubt. I merely meant it as a reassurance, not any slight on you." Jenny's shoulders still slumped as she sat on the edge of the bunk. "Dear Goddess, little ape. It is nothing to feel shame over." Vastra sighed. "You know, when I was young…"
"I ain't little." Jenny kicked her feet moodily. "Nor an ape."
"Alright." Vastra stared at the ceiling, trying to think of a way to reassure her. "You remember April?"
"Yeah."
"Well then. It is nothing to feel shame over." She crouched down in front of Jenny, taking her hand. "Bad memories do that. They take over until you can think of nothing else, can see nothing else. Even though to someone who is not you, who cannot see what you are reliving in your head, it is incomprehensible why you are acting that way."
"I knew why you were actin' that way." Jenny reminded her.
Vastra blinked. "So you did." She tilted her head in acknowledgement. "Well, do you wish to go for a walk then?"
Jenny nodded and got up.
"You gonna eat everyone who ever did me a bad turn in me life then?" she asked as they promenaded the deck together, still unsure whether to be amused or horrified at Vastra's sense of justice and her way of dealing it out.
"By the sounds of it, I wouldn't go hungry for a while if I did." Vastra was not impressed by the cruelties of the Victorian era. And yet the Doctor still tried to claim apes were worth saving. What hope the man had for everyone. Still, it was that hope that had saved her from being killed in a dark tunnel. Perhaps it had some merit after all.
1st January 1888
"How do Silurians mark time then?" Jenny had been explaining to Vastra about the New Year and why everyone had been celebrating and making a racket and was now curious as to the Silurian way. She placed a card down on the floor, where they were playing Beggar My Neighbour. Another maid on board had gifted her a pack of cards after Jenny had told her that Madame kept to their rooms a great deal due to ill health, saying at least she could keep herself amused with some Patience while she waited on the lady. Jenny's varied upbringing had resulted in knowing quite a lot of card games and she was now teaching Vastra, who was losing every time and hadn't worked out why yet.
"By the moon." Vastra frowned as she placed a card down on top of Jenny's. "The length of time it takes for the moon to go from a silver circle, through all the phases and return to the silver circle. The rest is more seasonal. The longest day, the shortest day. Turning into and coming out of the dark. The movement of the stars." She sighed as once more she had to pay a penalty and lost.
"All nat'rl then." Jenny collected up her cards with a studiously blank face.
"I suppose. It is hard to tell, the stars have changed much since I last saw them. Some have disappeared, others have been born. Silurians are long lived but to see a sky and know that the stars of your youth are now dust is…" Vastra trailed off, sounding quite melancholy but Jenny resisted the urge to try and comfort her. Previous attempts had not gone down well, despite the fact that Vastra was more than happy to comfort Jenny if she were upset.
They continued their card game in silence until Vastra realised why she was losing with quite such high frequency at a game that should've had an element of equal chance, resulting in peals of laughter from Jenny. After which, Vastra indignantly demanded that she deal the cards in future.
10th January 1888
10 days later the ship sailed into port and they managed to catch the train across India. Vastra had become quite proficient at sharping, resulting in a deal between her and Jenny that neither would try it in the future, at least when they were playing against each other but that everyone else was fair game.
10th – 13th January 1888
It was only a short journey, but Jenny's enthusiasm for trains was flagging in the heat and humidity. Vastra revelled in it, remarking that she wouldn't mind coming to live in India permanently, it reminded her much of the winters in her youth.
"You c'n live 'ere by yerself then." Jenny grumbled, but the comment caught her attention and she asked Vastra more about her childhood. Vastra was still guarded in her answers but allowed the questions, describing the dense jungles and the underground cities. That at least lacked any personal detail.
13 – 27th January 1888
It took them two weeks to pass by Singapore, landing in Hong Kong near the end of January. Jenny had fully gained her sea legs and spent a lot of her time peering into the water over the railing. Vastra was quite sure this wasn't appropriate behaviour for a maid either but although there were a few stares, no-one approached them as she sat on a small bench on the deck, annoyed at her veil for blocking the full heat of the sun. Basking in such heat was a pleasure now denied to her, except in certain circles in Egypt.
27th January 1888 - 3rd February 1888
A further week of travel by steam ship took them to Japan where they had to take small boat trips and cart rides to finally end up in Kyoto, where Vastra assured Jenny they would find…
9th February 1888
And there was the Doctor waving at them, standing out in his leather jacket. Beside him stood Rose, mostly fitting in and another man who was introduced as Captain Jack Harkness.
An:
Priest holes are a thing I read about in a book called Secret Chambers and Hiding Places which I picked up at the Old Library at uni cos it sounded all cool and mysterious.
Being locked in cupboards and denied food was a Victorian practice of punishment and discipline for children but isn't exactly confined to the era, as many alive today can testify.
Beggar My Neighbour is a pretty simple game but incredibly easy to lose very swiftly at. Jenny cheats by dealing crooked; thereby ensuring she has the majority of the penalty cards. I would've written the conversation resulting from Vastra realising what Jenny was doing but there are too many amusing variations. Unto your imagination...
Cap'n Jack Harkness! Oh the next chapter is gonna be fun...
