Chapter Fifteen:

Scarlett sat in the jumpseat, swinging her bare legs gently and watching Amy in amusement. Her friend was pacing back and forth while sneaking glances at Rory, who just so happened to be wearing a t-shirt with his and Amy's faces on it. Bless that boy.

"Oh, the life out there, it dazzles!" said the Doctor from below them. He was sitting in the harness seat underneath the clear floor, doing some (probably unnecessary) wielding work. "I mean, it blinds you to the things that are important. I've seen it devour relationships and plans..." The TARDIS experienced a small explosion and Rory glanced down nervously. "Oh! It's meant to do that," he shrugged before continuing his previous ramblings, "Because for one person to have seen all that, to taste the glory and then go back, it will tear you apart. So! I'm sending you somewhere, – well, technically, Scarlett and I are – together."

"Whoa!" said Amy, stopping in her tracks. "You mean like a date?"

"Anywhere you want, any time you want," the Doctor nodded, jumping out of his seat and joining them at the console. "One condition – it has to be amazing. The Moulin Rouge in 1890! The first Olympic Games!"

"The Boston Tea Party!" Scarlett added, causing the Doctor to spin round and point in her direction as if to say 'yes, that is quite amazing actually.'

"Think of it as a wedding present," he continued. "Because, frankly, it's either this or tokens," he paused to glance at Rory's stunned expression and smiled smugly. "It's a lot to take in, isn't it? Tiny box, huge room inside. What's that about? Let me explain."

"It's another dimension," said Rory.

"It's basically another dimens– What?" the Doctor frowned.

"After Prisoner Zero, I've been reading up on all the latest scientific theories; FTL travel, parallel universes," he explained.

"I'm impressed, Rory," Scarlett grinned.

He glanced at his friend sheepishly before turning back to the Doctor who looked like a child that had just had his ice-cream taken away.

"I like the bit when someone says, 'It's bigger on the inside.' I always look forward to that."

Sensing some upset, Scarlett gestured to Amy who nodded in understanding. "So, this date," she said, thankfully changing the subject and releasing some tension. "I'm kind of done with running down corridors. What do you think, Rory?"

"How about somewhere... romantic?" the Doctor asked before turning to set the TARDIS in motion.

When the TARDIS materialized, the Doctor ran to the doors, flinging them open in excitement. He ran outside and Scarlett followed quickly, eager to see where he had taken them now.

"Venice! Venezia! La Serenissima!" he grinned.

"The City of Water! The City of Canals!" Scarlett joined in.

The Doctor grinned before spouting off more knowledge, "Impossible city. Preposterous city! Founded by refugees running from Attila the Hun. It was just a collection of little wooden huts in the marsh, but 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. Byron, Napoleon, Casanova. Ooh, that reminds me," he paused to look down at his watch and visibly relaxed. "1580. That's all right. Casanova doesn't get born for 145 years. Don't want to run into him. I owe him a chicken."

"You owe Casanova a chicken?" Rory frowned, clearly feeling wary around the Doctor.

"Long story. We had a bet," the Doctor shrugged.

"Oh, you are most definitely telling us that story one day," Scarlett said, falling into step next to the Doctor.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" yelled a man all dressed in black as he stepped out in front of them. Scarlett jumped back in surprise, causing Rory to bump straight into her back. She turned, mouthing a quick 'sorry' before turning back to the official. "Papers, if you please; proof of residency, current bill of medical inspection."

The Doctor didn't falter. He simply pulled out his psychic paper and displayed it to the man. "There you go, fella. All to your satisfaction, I think you'll find."

The official's eyes widened before he fell into a deep bow. Scarlett furrowed her brow in confusion but decided to ask questions later. "I am so sorry, Your Holiness," said the man. "I didn't realise."

"No worries. You were just doing your job," shrugged the Doctor, looking quite smug at being called 'Your Holiness.' "Sorry, what exactly is your job?"

"Checking for aliens," the man explained and Scarlett tried her best to hold back a laugh. "Visitors from foreign lands what might bring the plague with them."

"Oh, that's nice. See where you bring me? The plague!" Amy said sarcastically, emphasizing her point with a slap to the Doctor's arm.

"Don't worry, Viscountess," said the official with a small bow. Amy sighed and nodded in quite a regal way. "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."

"How interesting," the Doctor said. "I heard the plague died out years ago."

Scarlett nodded her head in agreement. She studied history for both her GCSEs and A-Levels and she'd like to think she had learned a thing or two during her time. "It did. It started and died out in the 1300s."

"Forgive me, Principessa," he replied, causing her eyebrows to shoot up in surprise and the Doctor to clear his throat awkwardly. Princess? Oh, she could get used to this. "It hasn't died. Not out there. No, Signora Calvierri has seen it with her own eyes. Streets are piled with bodies, she said."

"Did she, now?" the Doctor mumbled.

Rory reached for the psychic paper as the official wandered off to question someone else. The Doctor and Scarlett continued on as Rory said disgustedly, "According to this, I am your eunuch!"

"Oh, yeah, I'll explain later," Amy replied with a small smile.

"So, princess, then?" Scarlett asked; linking her arm through the Doctor's while grinning smugly.

"Princess of France. It's not that big of a deal," he muttered.

"Oh, come on, I'm just teasing. I quite like being called a princess. I'm very regal, y'know."

The Doctor scoffed, "Yeah, right."

"Oi!" Scarlett frowned, hitting his arm slightly harder than Amy had just moments before.

The Doctor just laughed as Amy and Rory caught up with them, leaning against a balcony to watch across the canal as a procession of girls with veils covering their faces walked out of a building. A man ran out of the shadows towards the girls and yelled, but his words weren't loud enough to be carried across the water to them. The scene ended abruptly with two guards pulling the man – who had fallen down – off of the ground and away from the girls.

"What was that about?" Amy asked as the Doctor turned to leave. Unfortunately, due to Scarlett's arm being locked with his, she got dragged along, too.

The Doctor pulled Scarlett along a passageway where the man they had just seen was walking.

He wasted no time and, after carefully letting go of Scarlett's arm, jumped onto the bottom step of a stairway. Scarlett leaned back against it with her arms folded and legs crossed as the Doctor asked, "Who were those girls?"

The man stopped and turned to look at them with a confused frown, "I thought everyone knew about the Calvierri School."

"We're new here," Scarlett replied politely.

The Doctor nodded once, jumping off of the step so that he was closer to the man's level. However, due to his height, he still managed to tower over the man slightly. "Parents do all sorts of things to get their children into good schools. They move house, they change religion," he paused to lower his voice to a whisper, "So, why are you trying to get her out?"

Scarlett moved closer to the pair, eager to hear his explanation.

"Something happens in there. Something magical, something evil. My own daughter didn't recognise me. And the girl who pushed me away, her face... like an animal."

The Doctor smiled and put his arms around both Scarlett and the man's shoulders. "I think it's time we met this Signora Calvierri."