The Vampires of Venice (Part 1)
Rory stood in the center of his friends at his stag party, all of them cheering as a large cake was wheeled into the room, all of them knew what lie inside…or so they thought…
"Out!" the crowd cheered, "Out! Out!"
And then...the Doctor burst through the top of the cake.
The chanting stopped as the crowd looked on, stunned. Rory shook his head in disbelief as he stared at the back of the Doctor.
He turned around, smiling, as he saw Rory, "Rory! That's a relief. I thought I'd burst out of the wrong cake…again. That reminds me, there's a girl outside in a bikini. Could someone let her in, give her a jumper? Lucy. Lovely girl. Diabetic. Now, then. Rory. We need to talk about your fiancé. She tried to kiss me," everyone gasped, "Tell you what, though. You're a lucky man I bet she's a great kisser," someone dropped their glass as they all stared at the Doctor, who just now realized exactly what he'd said and how it came out, "Funny how you can say something in your head and it SOUNDS fine...
"Ignore him Rory," someone else said. Everyone looked over to see a blonde woman in a black tanktop and tan pants tucked into black boots walk in, her arm around a shivering, pale woman with brown hair in a bikini who was clutching a tan jacket, obviously the blonde's, around her shoulders as she walked in, "I can almost guarantee that even in his head it makes no sense to anyone but me."
"Evy?" Rory asked, stunned to see her there as well.
Evy glanced over at the cake, raising an eyebrow at the Doctor, "I see you found the right one this time?"
"Yes," he nodded. Evy nodded, passing the stripper off to one of the men, taking back her jacket, and walked over to him. She smacked him upside the head, making him flinch, "Ow! What did I do this time?"
"You don't tell a man his fiancé tried to kiss someone else!"
"But…she did," he said slowly, confused.
Evy rolled her eyes at him and walked over to Rory. She reached out and gave him a peck on the cheek, "There we go," she patted his cheek, "All better, now they're even," she glanced over at the Doctor before linking her arm through Rory's, "Now," she led him away from his friends, "We have a surprise for you…" she pulled him towards the back door she'd entered through, the Doctor scrambling out of the cake and over to them, "Carry on!" she called over her shoulder, pulling Rory out of the room.
~8~
The Doctor was sitting in a harness seat underneath the TARDIS console, welding something not even Evy was sure what, as Amy paced around nervously, Rory staring at the TARDIS in shock. Evy just leaned against a railing, half keeping an eye on the Doctor and half watching Rory in amusement.
"The life out there, it dazzles," the Doctor was saying, "I mean, it can blind you to the things that are important. We've seen it devour relationships and plans..." Rory jumped as there was a small explosion from where the Doctor was working, "Oh! It's meant to do that."
Rory looked over at Evy who just mouthed, 'No it's not.'
"Because for one person to have seen all that. To taste the glory and then go back, it WILL tear you apart. So...we're sending you somewhere. Together."
"Whoa!" Amy stepped forward, "What, like a date?"
"Anywhere and any time you want to go," Evy nodded as the Doctor slipped out of the harness and came to join them at the console, slipping his arm around Evy's waist as he went.
"One condition, it has to be amazing," the Doctor added, "The Moulin Rouge in 1890! The first Olympic Games! Think of it as a wedding present, because, frankly, it's either this or tokens."
"Actually…it's just this," Evy cut in, "He used the last of the tokens when we went to visit the motorway of New New York."
The Doctor smiled, pressing a kiss to Evy's head, recalling that trip. He remembered it from his perspective, his last self, walking through the alleys with Martha, back to the TARDIS, seeing the back of a woman with black hair in a brown dress, green leggings, and black motor boots just stepping away from the TARDIS and disappearing through a door that led back to the motorway, leaving a stark white note taped to the TARDIS door. Now he knew it had been Evy's last incarnation. Just before they'd both had to regenerate, she'd helped him look back on all his companions, but there had been one trip he'd insisted on for her.
New New York.
He'd wanted to make sure that his earlier self would meet Evy if it was the last thing he did, which it very nearly was. And since it was Evy out and about, near the TARDIS as he and Martha approached it, he wasn't technically crossing his own timeline. It was, as Evy often called it, a stretch, a huge stretch. But it worked. And now he knew exactly where he'd gotten that note from, who the woman was, and was so thankful that he had waited for that call the note spoke of and met Evy.
"It's a lot to take in, isn't it?" he asked Rory, shaking himself out of his thoughts, seeing the boy's stunned expression. He stepped away from Evy and headed up the stairs, "Tiny box, huge room inside. What's that about? Let me explain."
"It's another dimension," Rory said.
"It's basically another dimen..." he began, heading down the stairs, "What?"
"After Prisoner Zero, I've been reading up on all the latest scientific theories, FTL travel, parallel Universes…"
"I like you Rory," Evy laughed, stepping up to give him a quick one-armed, side hug before moving around him to the console, "This is going to be brilliant!"
The Doctor just stared at Rory with a serious expression, disappointed, as he stepped closer to the man, "I like the bit when someone says, 'It's bigger on the inside!' I always look forward to that."
"So, this date…" Amy cut in, "I'm kind of done with running down corridors. What do you think, Rory?"
"How about somewhere..." Evy glanced at the Doctor, her hand on a lever, "Romantic?" she pulled the lever down and the TARDIS flew into motion.
Amy immediately grabbed onto the console, expecting to be thrown around, only to realize it was a smoother, still a bit bumpy, ride than when the Doctor drove. Soon enough the TARDIS landed.
The Doctor ran to the doors, Evy following, and then Amy and Rory. He threw them open to reveal a busy market place, everyone dressed in period clothes, mid 1500s.
"Venice!" the Doctor laughed, throwing out his arms wide as he stepped out.
"Venezia!" Evy laughed as well, testing out her Italian, "La Serenissima!"
"Impossible city," he turned to face Rory and Amy as they stepped out and looked around, "Preposterous city! Founded by refugees running from Attila the Hun. It was just a collection of little wooden huts in the marsh, but…" he reached out and grabbed Evy, pulling her to him as he twirled her around in a pseudo waltz, "Became one of the most powerful cities in the world. Constantly being invaded, constantly flooding...constantly...just beautiful! Oh, you gotta love Venice. And so many people did…" he dipped her, "Byron, Napoleon, Casanova…oh, that reminds me…"
He pulled Evy up and went to check his watch but she just laughed and pushed his arm down, "I aimed for the 1500s," she told him, "It's 1580 so you've still got 145 years before Casanova's even born."
"Brilliant!" he smiled, "Fantastic! Don't want to run into him," he told Amy and Rory, "I owe him a chicken."
"You owe Casanova a chicken?" Rory asked.
"Long story…" he tried to wave the question off, "We had a bet."
"Oh, no, no, no, no," Evy laughed, linking arms with the Doctor, "You are not getting off that easy…"
"Evy…" he pouted.
Evy just gave him a peck and turned to Rory and Amy, "Casanova bet him a chicken that he could get more favors from women than he could," she nodded at the Doctor, "And this dunce thought he meant get women to do things for him like hold a door open or help him carry something, those sort of favors."
Amy and Rory looked like they were trying very hard to keep in their laughter as the Doctor just shook his head and looked down, "What happened?" Amy asked.
"Well he lost obviously," Evy replied, "But Casanova felt bad that the Doctor misunderstood and let him make another bet."
"What'd you bet that time?" Rory asked.
The Doctor mumbled something.
"He bet the TARDIS that he could find someone who wouldn't fall for Casanova's charms."
"Did you find someone?" Amy looked back at the TARDIS, "Or skip town?"
"Ha ha," the Doctor remarked, "If you must know, yes I did find someone."
"Who?" Rory tilted his head.
"Me," Evy shook her head, "He presented me," she turned to half glare at the Doctor, "I still can't believe you did that."
"The look on Casanova's face when he realized he'd failed was worth it though," the Doctor countered, "Wasn't it?"
"Actually…" she smirked, "I rather think it was more the look on your face when you realized that 'resisting Casanova' meant he was going to actively try to woo me was what did it for me."
"Right…" he trailed, wincing at the memory, he wasn't too fond of recalling Casanova trying to seduce his Link, "Can we…forget it for now?"
Evy smiled gently at him, seeing his resentment of the memory and stepped in front of him, draping her arms around his neck to look straight at him, "You are just lucky I love you so much," she gave him a quick peck on the lips.
He smiled at her as well, brushing a strand of her hair that was too short for her ponytail behind her ear, "Yes I am," he agreed softly, giving her a slightly deeper kiss, "Very, very lucky."
Rory looked away, feeling as though he were intruding on a private moment and glanced around. He frowned when he saw Amy frowning and looking to the side, as though she didn't want to see the sight in front of her.
"Right then," Evy pulled away, her hand sliding down into the Doctor's, "We've a tour to give!"
The Doctor laughed and led them through the market towards the steps that would lead to the center of the city, when a man in official garb stepped in front of them, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Papers, if you please. Proof of residency, current bill of medical inspection."
The Doctor held up the psychic paper for him to see, "There you go, fella…" the official took it and looked closely at it, "All to your satisfaction, I think you'll find."
The official's eyes widened as he looked around at the group before bowing to the Doctor, "I am so sorry, Your Holiness. I didn't realize."
The Doctor plucked the paper back, "No worries. You were just doing your job."
"Sorry, your job is what, exactly?" Evy cut in.
"Oh, your majesty…" the official bowed deeply again, Evy frowned and grabbed the paper from the Doctor before he could put it away. Her eyes widened as she saw he'd made her a princess of Poland. She passed the paper to Amy to look at as the official continued, "Checking for aliens, visitors from foreign lands what might bring the plague with them."
"Oh, that's nice, see where you bring me?" Amy slapped Evy's arm with the paper, "The plague!"
"Don't worry, Viscountess," the official bowed again as Amy sighed, looking down at the paper, "No, we're under quarantine here, no one comes in, no one goes out, and all because of the grace and wisdom of our patron, Signora Rosanna Calvierri," he held up a book with an intricate crest on it.
"Now that's interesting," Evy remarked, studying the crest, clearly not one of Earthly origins if you knew how to read it.
"I heard the plague died out years ago," the Doctor commented.
"Not out there," the official replied grimly, "No, Signora Calvierri has seen it with her own eyes. 'Streets are piled high with bodies,' she said."
"Did she, now?" the Doctor nodded as he linked his arm with Evy's and headed past the official, Amy and Rory following behind.
"According to this, I am your eunuch!" Rory shouted at Amy as he looked at the paper.
"Oh, yeah, I'll explain later," Amy told him as she took the paper and handed it back to the Doctor.
"Princess of Poland?" Evy asked, nodding at the paper as the Doctor put it away, "Really?"
"I know," he sighed, "I wanted to make you a queen, but it's a bit much isn't it?"
"A queen?" she laughed, "Why would you want to make me a queen?"
"You already rule over my hearts," he smiled at her.
"That is corny," she told him, but her smile and her eyes told him how happy she was. Not to mention, the small kiss she bestowed upon him didn't hurt matters either, "But sweet. Very, very sweet."
"What's that?" Amy called.
They looked back to see her pointing down a little alley. They walked back and saw a procession of young women in white across the water. They ran over to the canal to watch as the other citizens stopped to look as well.
"What do you want?" an older woman demanded as an older black man ran up to the women.
"Where's my Isabella?" he demanded, lifting the veils of various girls, trying to find this Isabella.
"What are you doing? Get away from there."
"Isabella!" he ignored her, continuing his search, "Isabella!" he paused at a young black female, "It's me!"
One of the other girls came forward and hissed at him. Evy frowned as she and the Doctor eyed her, able to see two pointy fangs protruding from her mouth. The man fell to the ground.
"Girls, come along!" the woman ordered as the girls continued.
As the procession began again another well dressed man put his boot on the man's chest, keeping him down. The Doctor took Evy's hand and pulled her off, they had to get across the canal and find that man. Something was going on and he seemed to sense it.
~8~
The Doctor and Evy ran along the paths, following the man as he stormed off. They ran after him, the Doctor leaping onto a staircase as the man walked through a passageway, pulling Evy up with him.
"Who were those girls?" the Doctor asked.
The man stopped and spun to face them as they leaned around the passageway, "I thought everyone knew about the Calvierri school."
"Our first day here," he stepped down with Evy.
"Parents will do anything to get their children into good schools," Evy continued as they walked over to him, "Move, switch religions, anything. So, why are you so keen to get her out?"
"Something happens in there," the man replied quietly, fear for Isabella evident in his eyes, "Something magical, something evil. My own daughter didn't recognize me. And the girl who pushed me away, her face...like an animal."
"I don't know about you," Evy remarked lightly to the Doctor, "But I'd rather like to meet this Signora Calvierri."
The Doctor smiled, nodding, as he put his arm around the man's shoulder, leading him out of the alley, a plan already forming in mind.
~8~
Guido, Isabella's father, approached the guards of the Calvierri school, "You have my daughter. Isabella!"
"You're not coming in, stop there!" one of the guards shouted as the Doctor and Evy peeked out at the scene, "We've told you..."
"You have my daughter," Guido continued as the Time Lords snuck alongside the building, just managing to slide along the edge of the canal to a gate, "Isabella! I demand you let me see my daughter."
Evy pulled out her sonic and flashed the gate, unlocking it, as the Doctor pushed it open.
"Isabella!" Guido continued to shout, "It's me! It's your father."
"I'll arrest you..." the second guard threatened.
"Isabella!" Guido shouted once more, seeing Evy and the Doctor sneak past the men and into the school. He glared at the guards once more for good measure and left.
Evy and the Doctor quickly headed down the nearest staircase they could find, not wanting to risk the guards seeing them. There was a large chamber at the bottom of the steps with a number of doors around it and a small mirror on the wall near a torch.
"Hello, handsome," the Doctor laughed, looking over at the mirror.
Evy just shook her head fondly and straightened his bow-tie as he checked his teeth.
"Who are you?" a number of voices asked at once.
They spun around to see five pale girls in white nightgowns standing there, staring at them. Evy looked back at the mirror, not seeing them. The Doctor did so as well, looking back and forth.
"How are you doing that?" she asked them, eyeing them, as the Doctor continued to look between them.
"I...am...loving it," he laughed, finally turning to face them as well, "You're like Houdini, only five scary girls, only he was shorter. Will be shorter."
"You're rambling," Evy cut in.
"I'll ask you again," the girls said in unison, "Who are you?"
"Why don't you check THIS out?" he held out his wallet with an ID on it…a photo of his first incarnation, "Library card," he mumbled, putting it away.
"Rory's got the psychic paper," she whispered to him, reminding him.
He sighed, "I need the spare…" he shook his head before getting back to business, "Pale, creepy girls who don't like sunlight and can't be seen in..." he glanced at the mirror and then to Evy, "Are we thinking what I think we're thinking?'
"But the city's shut down," she didn't answer, eyeing the girls, "Why do that?"
"Unless..."
"Leave now, or we shall call for the steward..." the girls began before hissing, baring their fangs as they advanced, "If you are lucky."
The Doctor grabbed Evy's hand and pulled her towards the stairs they'd just come from. He pushed her behind him as he turned to the girls, holding up his hands, "Tell us the whole plan…" they kept advancing, "One day that may work…"
Evy just rolled her eyes, that would NEVER work, and pulled him up the stairs after her.
"Listen," he continued, speaking to the girls as they made their way back up the steps, "We would love to stay here. This whole thing...I'm thrilled. Oh, this is Christmas!"
He turned and ran up the stairs with Evy, the girls hissing after them. They didn't stop running as they raced from the school and through the streets, running straight into Amy…
"Evy!" she shouted, "Doctor!"
"We just met some vampires!" he shouted at the same time that Amy said, "We just saw a vampire!"
"Vampires!" Amy repeated as the Doctor said "And creepy girls and everything."
They started jumping up and down, excited, as Evy just shook her head at them, "Hello Rory!" she shouted, seeing him run up.
"We think we just saw a vampire," Rory told her.
"Us too. Amy told us."
"Yeah!" Amy turned to grin at her fiancé, "Evy and the Doctor actually went to their house."
"Oh…" he nodded slowly, not really feeling the excitement, "Right. Well..."
"Ok, so..." the Doctor slapped Rory's cheeks before pulling Evy to him, her back to his chest as he wrapped his arms around her, resting his head on her head, laughing silently to himself at how she was short enough for him to do so, "First we need to get back in there somehow."
"What?!"
"How do we do that?" Amy frowned.
"Back in where?!"
Evy just shook her head and stepped out of the Doctor's arms, beside him, her arm around his waist as she turned them around, "You need to meet Guido."
~8~
They sat in Guido's house that night, staring down at a map of Venice. The Doctor, Evy, and Amy, standing by the table, looking at it, as Rory sat on some barrels in the back of the room.
"As you saw, there's no clear way in," Guido said, "The House of Calvierri is like a fortress. But there's a tunnel underneath it with a ladder and shaft that leads up into the house. I tried to get in once myself, but I hit a trapdoor."
"You need someone on the inside," Amy nodded.
"No," the Doctor said.
"You don't even know what I was going to say!"
"That we pretend you're an applicant just to get you inside that school so that you can open the trapdoor tonight and let us in," Evy answered.
"Oh…so you know what I was going to say."
"I've already told Evy no," the Doctor replied, still not looking up.
"When did that happen?" Guido asked, the girl Evy hadn't said anything of the sort.
"When you mentioned the tunnel," he remarked, still looking down as he waved the question off.
"How else are we going to get in there?" Amy asked.
"Are you insane?" Rory's eyes widened.
"We don't have another option."
"He said no, Amy. Listen to him."
"There is another option," Guido pointed towards Rory, "I work at the arsenal. We build the warships for the navy."
"Gunpowder?" Evy looked over at the barrels as the Doctor went to go sniff it.
"Most people just nick stationery from where they work," the Doctor remarked, nodding, as Rory slowly slid off a barrel and backed away…right into a dead rabbit hanging by the fireplace, "Look, Evy and I have a thing about guns and huge quantities of explosive…"
"What do you suggest, then?" Guido asked, "We wait until they turn her into an animal?" he turned away and poked the fire angrily.
"I'll be there three, four hours tops," Amy began slowly.
Evy had to smile at her persistence.
"No, no, no, no, no, no," the Doctor shook his head, "It can't keep happening like this. This is how they go…"
He sat back on the bed, his head in his hands before he sat back and looked over at Evy, 'What do you think?'
'I think if anyone is going to go, it should be me,' she replied.
'No!' he said, his eyes hardening, 'I'm NOT putting you in a situation like that, not ever.'
'Doctor, it's me or Amy. And of the two of us, I have a better chance.'
'But…'
'Doctor, I'm as clever as you and I've got my powers if anything gets tricky…' she paused a moment, before smirking, 'Shall we tally your dangerous adventures up to mine? You owe me quite a few you know…'
He had to agree there…he did tend to put his life on the line more so than her…he knew that would come back to bite him one day. He shook his head, his gaze turning concerned, 'What if something happens to you?'
Evy looked down a moment, 'Then send the both of us.'
He frowned, 'The both of you?'
'I watch her back, she watches mine,' she shrugged, 'If something happens to one of us, the other can help,' he hesitated, 'It's the best we can do.'
He sighed, "You go together," he looked up at Evy meaningfully as she smirked in triumph.
"Wait…what just happened?" Rory shook his head, confused, "You didn't say anything for two minutes and then…"
"Sometimes they slip into these mental conversation things from time to time," Amy rolled her eyes, "Quite annoying actually."
"Mental conversations?" Guido asked.
"Yes, Evy and I have a mental bond, lets us talk to each other without talking to each other," the Doctor said before sitting up, not noticing Guido's confused expression, "We'll all go and say you're my daughters."
Evy snorted at the absurdity of the idea...
"What?" Rory demanded, first it was don't go and now it was go? "Don't listen to him!"
"Your daughters?" Amy asked incredulously, "You look about nine."
"And there's no way I'm ever going to pretend to be your daughter," Evy told him.
He grimaced at the thought for a moment, "Brother, then?"
"No," Evy shook her head, that was almost worse.
"Too weird," Amy agreed, before smiling suggestively, "Fiancé."
"I'm not having him run around telling people he's your fiancé," Rory stated.
"And he's my Link," Evy said, her smile fading as she looked at Amy.
She knew Amy had her sights set on the Doctor, but she also knew the Doctor was loyal to her…it shouldn't bother her when Amy made comments like that but…it got to her sometimes. She'd thought that traveling with the two of them, Amy would see that the Doctor and her were together and perhaps move on, finally realize she had what she always wanted in Rory…but it seemed like she was just as stubborn as always…
Amy looked down at the look on Evy's face, a bit ashamed. She was really trying to get over the Doctor, she knew, she could see it ever since she was a little girl, that he loved Evy with all his hearts…and she was trying so hard to get over him and be happy with Rory, but...she had spent so long pining over him that these little comments slipped through. There was always a little part inside her head nagging her, saying that maybe, if she could just find the opportunity, the Doctor might see something in her and leave…
She shook her head, halting those thoughts, "No. No, you're right."
"Thank you," Rory nodded.
Evy could only muster a small smile.
"I mean, they've already seen the Doctor…" she began, blinking, before turning to Evy, "Didn't they see you too?"
Evy shrugged, "It was dark. If I wear different clothes, change my hairstyle, keep my head down, I'll be fine."
Amy nodded slowly before getting back to Rory, "You should do it."
"Me?" Rory gaped.
"Yeah!" Amy smiled, jumping over to him, "You can be my brother," she rubbed his head playfully.
The Doctor just laughed at their silliness, holding out a hand to Evy who walked over and took it, letting herself be pulled onto his lap. He wrapped an arm around her, nuzzling the side of her head with his nose, knowing how Amy's words had affected her. Evy was always careful to guard her thoughts about the girl at times, but some of them slipped through. He knew that, even though she didn't feel threatened by Amy's presence, she wasn't too comfortable with how Amy acted or spoke around him or to him. He tried his best to ease her mind. He knew she trusted him, and she trusted Amy to an extent...not as much as before the Weeping Angel incident though...but he couldn't blame her. He hated hurting people, he knew his interactions with Evy, the little moments they had, seemed to hurt Amy, but he was also trying to subtly help her realize that she was chasing after something she would never ever reach.
Evy smiled as he nuzzled her head, sensing his thoughts, as he kissed her temple.
"Why is him being your brother weird, but with me, it's ok?" Rory asked, pulling away, "This whole thing is mental! They're VAMPIRES, for God's sake."
"We hope," Evy remarked.
"So if they're not vampires..." Amy trailed.
"Makes you wonder what could be so bad it doesn't actually mind us thinking it's a vampire?" the Doctor asked, sticking his top teeth out in imitation of a vampire before nibbling on Evy's neck, making her squeal.
~8~
Amy and Evy stood on either side of Rory as they were brought before Signora Calvierri. Rory was wearing Guido's clothing while Evy and Amy wore a simple skirt and blouse that had once belonged to Isabella. Evy had let her hair down, some of it naturally falling over the side of her face as she looked down at the ground, eyeing the people in the room subtly.
"So, basically, both of our parents, aunt, and uncle are dead from getting the plague," Rory explained, "I'm a gondola...driver...so...money's a bit tight...so having my sister and my cousin go to your school for special people would be brilliant. Cheers."
The well dressed man who had put his foot on Guido the other day walked forward, interested in Amy, "Have we met?"
"I've just got one of those faces…"
"I wasn't talking to you."
"She's got the same face...which is because she's my sister!"
"Carlo, explain yourself," the Signora turned to her steward, "Why have you brought me this imbecile?"
"Signora, they have references from the King of Sweden," Carlo replied.
"What?" her eyes widened, "Let me see," she held out her hand and Rory walked to the throne, handing her the psychic paper. She paused a moment, looking down at it. Evy frowned as she watched recognition flash in the Signora's eyes before she put on a very forced smile, "Well, now I can see what got my steward so excited," she handed it back to Rory, "What say you, Francesco? Do you like them?"
Francesco moved over to Evy from circling Amy, eyeing her up and down before looking back at Amy, "Oh, I do, mother. I do."
"Then we would be delighted to accept them. Say goodbye to your sister and cousin."
Rory gripped Amy's hand tightly before Carlo led him out of the room.
"Tell Uncle...Doctor...we'll see you both pretty soon, ok?" Amy called after him, "We'll be fine."
Evy stiffened as Francesco approached Amy from behind, his teeth bared.
Rory's eyes widened, seeing this as well, "Amy!" he shouted as the door slammed shut.
'Don't worry Rory,' Evy's voice echoed in his mind, 'I'll take care of her.'
~8~
Evy looked up as Signora motioned for Carlo to lead them away.
'How is it going?' the Doctor asked.
'Signora knows it's psychic paper.'
'What? How?'
'I don't know. But she knew it was blank.'
'We're going to get you out,' he promised her.
'I know,' she smiled, 'Love you.'
She could practically feel him smile in her mind, 'Love you too.'
Her attention snapped back to the tour as Carlo led them up some stairs. She glanced up to see various girls looking down at them and put her head down, trying not to look up at them.
"There are clothes on the bed," Carlo led them to a sort of dorm room where a few other girls were, "Get changed and wait here."
"Blimey," Amy muttered, looking around at the large, beautiful room, "This is private education, then?"
The other girls left one by one, following after Carlo. Evy nudged Amy, nodding over at the one girl who was left behind, sitting on her bed.
"Hey," Amy stepped over, "Hello. I'm Amy and this is Evy. What's your name?"
"Isabella," she answered.
'Found her,' she called.
Amy and Evy exchanged a glance before sitting down on either side of her, "Listen, we're going to get you out of here," Amy began.
"But we need you to tell us what happened," Evy added, "What is this place? What did they do to you?"
"They, um..." Isabella struggled, "They come at night. They gather around my bed and they take me to a room...with this green light and a chair with...with straps, as if for a surgeon..."
"What happens there?" Evy asked, reaching out to place a hand on Isabella's.
"I wake up here. And the sunlight burns my skin like candle wax."
A bell tolled as Amy looked around warily.
A/N: I always felt bad that Amy had to go into the school by herself, it always seemed too reckless to me. It also reminded me of Rose a bit, I always felt like she tended to treat some adventures with the Doctor as more of a game or a dream than seeing the dangers for what they were. Here was where I could see the events of The God Complex coming into play, Amy's faith in the Doctor, that she'll always be safe with him there. She goes into a school with no protection, treating it as though it's nothing serious, when it is very dangerous, all because she thinks the Doctor will keep her safe...let's just forget the fact he wouldn't be in the school at the same time but trying to make his way to it. So I wanted Evy there with her because the Doctor couldn't be.
Quick little update for fans of my story Recollections, I've finally figured out the '4 things' involved with the Lizard, I had been trying to think of actual THINGS before I realized that those 'things' could just be situations or dangers so the ideas came pretty quickly after that. But...I've recently discovered that my one Grad-class is all about group projects and we have one to put together within two weeks, on top of a few new job interviews, so it may take a little while to update it (probably, the lastest, by the end of next week). In terms of the rest of the Academic Series, I've updated my profile about when that will be continued.
As for who wants a dinosaur...there'll be a hint to that in The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe (Part 1) because that same someone also wants a panther :)
Next chapter...the Doctor knows exactly how dangerous it is to travel with him. The Doctor and Evy try to get through to Amy. The Doctor tries his hand at distracting Evy...and it works.