Vastra had been inclined to stand and gaze at the trees, enjoying the heat of the jungle but Jenny had stomped off in the direction of the roar and, not wishing to lose her wife so early in their marriage, Vastra had followed, cursing the fact she was in a dress when the undergrowth tugged at it. The roar turned out to be the surf of an ocean beating against a long, wide beach. Jenny was staring at it, shading her eyes against the glare of the sun that hung high in the sky.
"Where are we?"
"A deserted island." Vastra shrugged, looking up and down the beach. Apart from a few animal nests it was devoid of any sign of human, or other, life.
"What are you doin'?" Jenny was startled as Vastra divested herself of the rather torn wedding dress and her shoes and stood on the sand in just a pair of long drawers.
"Enjoying the heat my dear." Vastra stood, her arms flung wide, basking.
Jenny blinked but the heat was causing sweat to prickle all over and she kicked off her own boots and shrugged out of her hastily put on waistcoat and trousers, leaving her in drawers and her shirt. The sweat turned cold as she realised that she hadn't picked up her corset and that meant it was still lying somewhere in Queen Victoria's bedroom. Resigning herself to the fact she could do very little about it, she experimented with tying her shirt in a way that would serve as a replacement. She folded her trousers and Vastra's dress into the middle of her waistcoat and made a neat package of it with their stockings. The boots she merely tied the shoelaces together in order to carry them with ease.
"Sorry to interrupt my darlin' but we need to find somewhere to stay tonight, not to mention food an' fresh water." She came to stand by Vastra's side with her bundle tucked under one arm, the shoes dangling from the hand attached to it.
"Hm. You are right my…" Vastra was struck dumb as she turned to look at Jenny and saw her new improvised outfit.
Jenny shrugged at Vastra's enquiring gaze. "Deserted right?" She took Vastra's arm in her spare one and pulled her along the beach.
"I may have to ask Pearce and Darrow to maroon us more often."
"I think you'd be better off askin' whoever asked them to maroon us. And askin' them to maroon us with supplies next time." Jenny grumbled. "Or at least somewhere to stay." It was hot and hard work walking on the sand.
Vastra delicately guided them towards the surf line, where the sand was firmer, and the surf was cool as it washed against their ankles. She reached round and divested Jenny of their footwear, swinging it from hand to the other behind her back so she would not have to break their linked arms too much.
Jenny sighed in relief as much as pleasure, the first time a small wave bubbled over her feet.
"No wonder ev'ryone always goes on about seabathin' doin' so much good."
"Perhaps, after we've found somewhere to stay, we should go swimming." Vastra nudged Jenny with her shoulder, gesturing out at the wide, rolling expanse.
"Be a bit cold for you." Jenny frowned, unsure. The glory of the water was its coolness after the hot sand.
"Well, we shall see. Under this hot a sun I doubt I'd have too much trouble getting warm again."
"Is it…our sun d'you think?" Jenny squinted up at it.
"You mean, are we on earth? I rather doubt not my dear, however like it this planet may be."
Jenny was silent for a while as they trudged on. "I'm on another planet." She whispered, barely audible to Vastra over the sound of the surf.
"A wedding present. From whoever asked Darrow and Pearce to strand us here."
"An' whoever that is I'll be givin' 'em what for." Jenny sighed. She had ideas about who it might be as well.
The eventual sight of the mouth of a small stream up ahead lifted her spirits somewhat. They followed the river back inland through the trees a small way and found they did not even have to resort to drinking from the stream directly, after the discovery of a large wooden hut.
It wasn't a rough beach hut, more like an entire house, built on sturdy stilts to raise it from the jungle floor. A rope ladder was the means of ascent to a veranda large enough to comfortably house the table and two chairs stood on it. The two large window frames in the wall were hung only with netted material. The door was a curtain of beads that was currently tied back.
"Well. Looks like this is us." Jenny grinned, peering through the doorway. They'd both gotten hastily redressed in order to climb the rope ladder without hindrance.
"Hopefully, there are cases of more suitable attire inside." Vastra plucked at her wedding dress a little mournfully.
"I'm sure George can fix it." Jenny took the Silurian's hands and pulled her through into the hallway. It opened up immediately into two rooms either side of it, the doorways almost wider than the walls they were in. In one was a living room, a long right angled sofa dominating most of the space. In the other was a stove and a large white box that was humming a little ominously. Jenny briefly explored the cupboards above the sink and found tableware and tins of food. She tested the tap and drew two glasses of deliciously cold and refreshing water, gulping hers down immediately and then splashing more water on her face, to clear the salt the spray and the sun combined had rimed it with.
"We're not going hungry at least. Shall we see if we can discover the sleeping arrangements?" Vastra asked once Jenny had dried her face on her shirt sleeve.
At the end of the hallway was a set of stairs with a door by it, which Jenny discovered led on to a bathroom, if a large round tub almost big enough to be a swimming pool could be considered a bath. Up the stairs, steep enough to really be more of a ladder, was one large room under a sloping roof. The stairs came up through a trap door into the centre, occupied by a double bed which faced onto a large window set in the sloping roof. Jenny immediately flopped down onto it and stared out at the view of sparse trees and, not to distant, the sparkle of the sea.
Vastra was more interested in investigated the three suitcases which were stood in the corner. Two contained clothes, one for each of them according to the name tags. The inscription on the third tag merely said "Have fun! Love River xx 😉". She opened it a small way and then closed it back up again immediately, her scales going a dark green. She glanced over at Jenny, but the young woman had apparently noticed nothing, too busy shrugging herself out of her waistcoat. As Vastra moved over to sit on the bed, she surreptitiously slid the additional suitcase under it.
"Would you like to get changed? They appear to have provided us with more suitable attire for the climate." Vastra gestured to the two suitcases remaining in view. A grunt was her only reply as Jenny rolled onto her side and flung an arm about Vastra's waist. Vastra smiled fondly at her. "Let me guess. You're hungry?"
"M' tired." Jenny sighed. Vastra waited. "An' hungry, yes."
"Come. Food, then a bath and bed?" Vastra suggested, trying and failing to remove the arm from around her.
With a grunt, Jenny shifted herself upright and stretched herself to standing. Vastra sat on the bed admiring the view, for Jenny still had her shirt tied up and she could see faint outlines of muscles moving beneath Jenny's skin as Jenny raised her arms above her head. A faint smile on Jenny's lips suggested that she was well aware of Vastra observing her.
"Food then?" Jenny turned to Vastra, digging her hands into the deep pockets George had made her wedding trousers with.
Vastra was not hungry for food but she followed Jenny down and, after setting the bath to fill up, sat with her in companionable silence as she scarfed down a quick supper. They investigated the cupboards around the bath, and, to Jenny's delight, there were several bottles of bubble bath. After the bath in Jack's flat, she'd missed the fun of foam. The tub being big enough to stretch out and deep enough to sit upright in and still only have a head above water, meant that there was plentiful space for splashing and major bubble creating. And snuggling. The warm, steamy atmosphere reminded Jenny of the baths in Japan and she remembered her thoughts of recreating it in Paternoster Row as she curled up at Vastra's side, blowing away a few bubbles that were near her face, and idly running her fingers up and down the arm that was draped across her shoulders. It had been quite some time now since Vastra had first allowed such touches, but they still felt so new to Jenny that she revelled in every opportunity to indulge in the comfortable intimacy. Not, she reflected, that it would ever grow old. She closed her eyes and leant her head back against Vastra's shoulder.
"If you are about to fall asleep, perhaps we should retire to the bedroom." Vastra suggested, eliciting another sigh.
But as much as Jenny was comfortable where she was, tiredness was beginning to overwhelm her. She summoned one last burst of energy to rinse off any remaining bubbles, dry herself off and dress in the light nightgown that Vastra dug out of her suitcase for her, before falling asleep almost the moment she lay down on the bed, leaving it to Vastra to cover the both of them with the blanket.
The sun had not yet set when Jenny had fallen asleep and they had not drawn the curtains over the large window, so she woke in the middle of the night, blinking against the bright silvery light that filled the room. Her tiredness had gone but she lay still for a moment, listening to Vastra's breathing, feeling the movement of her body as she did so, confused as to where they were. When remembrance returned, she carefully shifted out from under Vastra's arm, smiling fondly as she saw in the silver light the frown that her action caused. Dispelling it momentarily with a kiss, Jenny stood up and moved to the window, awe-struck at the sight of two moons hung in the sky, confirming once and for all that this was not Earth. She gasped and ducked underneath the netting to see the sea shimmering silver in the distance. Delight in the literally unearthly beauty took her down the steep stairs, through the hut and down the rope ladder and running through the coarse grass and over the soft sand until she stood once more on the beach. There was a pleasantly cool breeze as she stood under a clear sky, the light of the moons obscuring all but the brightest of stars. She gazed at the sea, mesmerised by the soft roar and crash of the waves until she felt arms sneak around her waist.
"S'beautiful." She breathed. "Din't know anythin' could be that beautiful."
"I did." Vastra whispered in her ear.
"Back with the Silurians you mean? Back in your own time?" Jenny asked, strangely overcome with melancholy, which made the rather musical laugh from Vastra all the more surprising.
"No, my love, I was referring to you."
Jenny twisted enough so that Vastra could see the grin her compliment had elicited and then returned to watching the waves with a happy sigh. "We're married now."
"Yes, we are. We are like those two moons." Vastra nodded at them. "Together, whatever happens."
