Today was the day. My first adventure on the TARDIS, to a planet where anything could happen. For the past three months, the Doctor has been teaching me how to fly the TARDIS, and finally, finally, he's let me go on a journey. He dashes around the TARDIS, flicking switches on the console, his smile lighting up the whole ship.
Frankly, he looks a bit mad.
I jump down to join him, rolling my eyes as I he left the brakes on - the TARDIS had begun to make a wheezy, squeaky noise. I flick a switch and the noise stops.
"That's better!" I say.
"What?" The Doctor peers around the console. "Did you...touch something?"
"No! Just, err, admiring your work."
The Doctor nods. "Good, good."
I have to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing. This man was completely clueless.
"So!" The Doctor is buzzing with excitement. "Where do you want to go? What do you want to see? Anything, anywhere, any-when –it's all yours!"
My hearts beat fast with anticipation. "Ooh...let's see...Earth. And... OOOH OOOOH can we go at Christmas time?" I remember reading about Earth whilst I was at the Academy. It was my favourite planet by far because, well, there was just something different about it than the others.
Something about the landscape, the architecture, the humans and the animals captivated me from the beginning. Even for the past few months, whilst the Doctor was teaching me, I spent hours on end in the library, reading about many of the wonderful planets in the Universe – in particular, Earth.
The Doctor laughs, waking me from my daydream.
"What?" I frown.
"Nothing – it's just that I've never had someone travel with me that was so enthusiastic!"
I grin. "That's me - Enthusiastic Flora!"
The Doctor's face suddenly falls, an expression of sadness replacing his cheerful atmosphere.
"Doctor?" I whisper. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing...it's just...you remind me of an old friend." He sighed.
"What was their name?"
"Her name was Emelyn."
I gasp. "What?" I almost yell.
"Emelyn." He repeats, frowning. "Why, did you know her?"
"No, I just ... never mind."
I busy myself with fixing my hair, but the Doctor's gaze is fixed on me.
"Can I ask you something?" He asks me.
"Um, yeah." I reply weakly. "Of course."
"Why do you block your thoughts from me?"
I whip my head around to stare at him, and my vision blurs, a sad expression on my face.
"When I was in the Time War, the Daleks took me as hostage. They said they needed to use me for an experiment. They wanted to harness my
regeneration energy by accessing my mind and using it to make them like Time Lords – smart, and able to regenerate. The only way to stop them from gaining control of me was to block my thoughts. I managed to escape, but was exterminated in the process. I had to keep running because if they could capture even the smallest amount of regeneration energy, they would have been invincible. I barely made it out alive before I regenerated, and now, I guess the blocking my mind's become a bit of a habit. I'm sorry, I don't like to talk about it." Tears prick at my eyes as I recall the worst days of my life. The constant torture, the hunger, the inevitable pain. I bow my head, not wanting to show the Doctor how much it hurts me to remember. That's when I feel a hand take hold of mine with a firm, gentle grip. I glance up and see the Doctor, his eyes full of concern and sorrow.
"I'm so sorry." He says.
I just give him a faint smile, pushing the despair from my mind, and concentrating on the journey ahead. My hand caresses the crisp white edges of the door as I gently nudge it open. and then I see it. the sight that makes my eyes light up with excitement and my skin shiver in awe. My jaw drops and I'm left gaping at the scene before me. my feet are glued to the edge of the Tardis as we soar above the Earth, wandering and wavering throughout the start struck skies. My vibrant red hair billows over my shoulders and I let myself be consumed by the feeling of utter happiness. If I look under my feet I see the earth. Millions of miles away is the blazing sun. stars are scattered like confetti just beyond my reach. I glimpse shadows of planets as we fly further through the galaxy towards the Earth.
"Here we are! The Rings of Akhaten - I lovely place. Well, er, just don't buy anything." The Doctor added.
"Why not?" I questioned.
"You'll see."
After touring around for hours, we come to a market place crammed full of aliens.
We wander through a huge market place, crowded with hundreds of stall selling all kinds of things - seven point rubies, hover-cycles, and oblivion balls. Tons of strange, alien like creatures selling goods. I walk past a giant, blue, squid like monster. It grunts and I burst out laughing.
"This is so cool!" I exclaim to the Doctor.
He laughs and pats my back. "I know. I know."
Suddenly, I spot a yellow Oxiconivatorius, and, overcome with excitement, I race over.
"Hello!" I say.
"Oxiofsdihdods oxcodiepofjhgois oxwiiuedjdj oxerfdiii ox oxwiwiuehejeeejeje oxiifhfdhsif oxdre oxfiirir oxitiehlps."
"Um, how much is one of these?" I asked politely, pointing to a small jewel.
"Er, hello! Ah, sorry Flora but we really should be going now."
"No Doctor. I want to buy something!"
"What did I say about buying things? Don't you see? There is no currency - the price for everything's something valuable."
"Oh," I deflate. "Never mind then. Thanks anyway." I sigh. Everything was lost on Gallifrey - how could I have been so stupid? I have no money, no family, no photographs - no nothing. I step back inside the Tardis, defeated, before crawling back into my room, feeling exhausted.
I don't hear my door being opened.
I don't see the Doctor slip inside.
I don't feel him stroke my hair; kiss my forehead goodnight.
I don't see him place the ruby that I wanted on my dresser.
And I will never know what he traded, just to give me one small gift.
A/N: Sorry I deleted my last chapter! I much more enjoy making my own chapters up and writing them instead of making different versions of existing Dr Who episodes hahaha. ANYWAYS, HOPE YOU LIKED THIS, ALTHOUGH IT WAS ONLY SHORT! 333
Imogen