Sorry for the wait! Will be trying to update at least once a month from now… hope you all enjoy ;)
Hally woke up in a bed which had grown to be more familiar than her own in the dormitory.
They'd both arrived back the Academy in the early hours of the morning, The Master had walked her back to his room. She'd surprised herself when there had been no urge to slink back to her own room. She'd rationalised that it'd probably be safer for them both to stick together, however, she had felt a strange sense of finality about the matter, like they'd shared a moment of silent agreement that that would be where she'd be sleeping from now on.
Hally lay awake, staring up at the blackness of the ceiling. The Master was sleeping beside her, she could hear his soft breathing in the silence of the night. It was a strange feeling, she could feel his presence in the back of her mind, hear the steady four beats of the drums in his mind, in their minds… At first, the idea of him being connected to her thoughts had scared her, she'd felt ashamed and embarrassed that he would be able to see all the deepest darkest crevices of her soul, but as night had crept on and sleep had continued to evade Hally, she had begun to find the feeling comforting. He was always there, he could hear her and she, him, there was no judgement and it felt amazing to be so personally entwined. Suddenly, with him lying on the other side of his queen-sized bed, he felt too far away?
It hadn't come as much of a surprise to her when she'd finally awoken, to find his arm wrapped protectively around her, her body curled in towards his own. She slowly eased herself out from his grip, smiling slightly to herself. She padded into the bathroom, changing into her clothes from the previous day.
Hally made a mental note to transfer more of her clothes into The Master's room, smirking to herself at the thought of The Master begrudgingly having to share his wardrobe space with her. She quickly tied up her hair and checked herself in the mirror. Shrugging with resignation at her weary appearance, she headed back into the room, grabbing her bag.
She knew it was stupid to grasp at the idea of things returning back to normal at the academy, however, Hally felt the need to go and have breakfast with Persca, as normal. Then head off to class, as normal. Rassilon be damned.
She wasn't naïve enough to expect the day to go so smoothly, but she figured she'd have to face reality sooner or later. It might as well be sooner.
"I trust you don't need me to shield you from Rassilon." Hally smirked and looked over to the figure who was now propped up on one elbow on the bed.
She flashed him a confident grin. "What can he do to me now?"
The Master chuckled softly at her confidence, running a hand through his messed up hair. "Be careful, my Queen." He stressed her title mockingly, raising an eyebrow at her.
She shot him a playfully irritated look which changed into a predatory smile as she took a few steps closer to the bed. Hally relished the look of surprise on The Master's face as she bent down and left a lingering kiss just to the left of his mouth.
She smirked as she straightened up, turning on her heel and heading out of the room.
Hally bit her lip as she walked away from The Master's room and towards the breakfast hall, his scent still lingered about her and it took more focus than she'd predicted to ignore the mental image of her falling back into bed with The Master. She coughed awkwardly to herself.
Nope. Not a good idea.
Hally entered into the hall, quickly finding Persca and sitting opposite her. Hally smiled sweetly.
"Hi."
Persca raised an eyebrow, looking shocked at her friend's calm appearance.
"Hi?! Seriously… Hi?! Where the hell have you been! We've been worried sick…" She whispered angrily at her.
Hally frowned. "We...?"
Persca waved her hand in dismissal. "Ok, just me. Still, where have you been? You pull a stunt like that, in front of basically everyone and then you disappear and just waltz into breakfast in… wait. Those were the clothes you were wearing yesterday…" Persca's eyes narrowed. "Where did you sleep last night…?" Persca was giving Hally a dark scrutinizing look.
Hally opened her mouth to swiftly change the subject, it definitely wasn't a good idea to tell Persca everything right now. That would have to wait.
Persca, however, didn't let Hally even begin to explain. "Were you with him?! This is unbelievable. You can't be sleeping with him! He's dangerous and crazy and… do you have some kind of a death wish?!" Hally sighed loudly and reaching over the table, ungraciously shoved her hand over Persca's mouth.
"If you could just let me speak?" Persca glared at her silently.
"Thanks. No. I am NOT sleeping with him. I basically spent all of yesterday afternoon and night hiding from Rassilon. No, I don't have a death wish and before you ask… yes, it's looking like one day I'm going to end up being the queen of An Garradh." She slowly removed her hand from Persca's mouth, eyeing her intently.
Persca stared at her, slowly processing her words. "Right. Ok." Persca was still eyeing her suspiciously but before she could ask anything further, the doors to the hall burst open. Two streams of guards dressed in ceremonial red entered the room, splitting off to flank both sides of the room. After the guards, came a row of the High Chancellors and at the centre, Rassilon strode angrily into the hall. They marched all the way to the front, the Chancellors fanning out onto the slightly raised platform at the front, Rassilon taking centre stage.
Hally audibly groaned. "Oh, here we go." She rolled her eyes as four of Rassilon's personal guards stepped up behind where she was sat, roughly motioning for her to stand.
She did so, flashing Persca a small smile as she stood. One of the guards made to grab her upper arm but Hally shot him a dangerous scowl. "I think I can manage." She muttered darkly, striding up to the front of the room. Stopping just short of the platform.
"On your knees." Rassilon stared down at her, his hard gaze making her stomach squirm.
Hally clenched her fists hard, resisting the urge to blast Rassilon into hell, she slowly lowered herself onto her knees. She stared defiantly up at him, his mouth curled into a sickening smirk as he relished in her obedience.
Hally felt The Master's presence before she saw him, out of the corner of her eye, step slightly into view behind the line of Chancellors. She looked over and briefly caught his eye, he was watching Rassilon warily. When their eyes met he couldn't resist but send her a slightly smug smirk, no doubt enjoying her current subservient position.
Hally narrowed her eyes irritably at him as she felt a small blush creep up her neck. It was strange that The Master could wear the same expression on his face as Rassilon and yet she didn't want to rip his throat out. She turned her attention back to the pompous idiot in front of her. He summoned forward High Chancellor Yovan with an impatient wave of his hand. Yovan cleared his throat, stepping forward.
"Good morrow to you all. I am delighted to announce an exciting development that our gracious Lord President would like to share with you all." The Chancellor opened up his arms as he continued his address. "As many of you are aware, we were yesterday informed of a future monarch of the respectable conglomeration of An Garradh." He made an awkward nod in Hally's direction. She rolled her eyes.
"It is our Lord President's utmost priority to continue to develop and grow the relationship with the people of The Garden and so, he has taken upon himself the great responsibility of King and will, this very afternoon, wed the future Queen."
A shocked silence momentarily fell over the room, Hally heard a few brave students shout out in confusion. She was even a little pleased to hear some cries of outrage at her complete lack of choice in the matter.
This guy is the biggest egotistical prick I have EVER met.
Hally saw The Master cover up a chuckle out of the corner of her eye, she heard his smug voice in her mind. "I don't know whether to be flattered or a little insulted that I've been replaced as 'top prick'."
Hally tried to stifle the snigger that escaped from her mouth, but Rassilon noticed. His beady, angry eyes pinning her to the spot.
"What's so funny child? You will learn to respect your President!" He growled, only loud enough that a few of the Chancellor's head.
Hally let the snigger grow into a full-blown laugh. "I'm so sorry." She mocked as she slowly got to her feet. "I can't possibly marry you." She shrugged nonchalantly.
It was Rassilon's turn to laugh. "My child, you have no choice. You shall bow to me as your President and as your husband."
Hally didn't even bother to hide the look of disgust that crossed her face, mouthing 'Ew' at the group of Chancellor's stood behind Rassilon. To her amusement and to Rassilon's rage, a few of them had to stifle laughs of their own.
"I'm afraid I won't be marrying you…" Hally relished the look of shock on The President's face. "Perhaps you need to be brought up to speed." She continued, feigning seriousness. "I would suggest a crosscheck of the records." She smiled sweetly to the Chancellor on their left who was currently holding the most recent book of the great archive.
Rassilon, however, ignored her and instead roughly grabbed at her neck. Wrapping his long, thin fingers tightly around her throat. Hally choked in surprise, grabbing at his hand.
"How dare you mock me, you insolent child!" He spat furiously, his nails digging painfully into her skin. Hally let out a strangled noise of protest, flashing impatient eyes at the Chancellor holding the archives. He suspiciously let the book fall open in his hands, skimming through the most recent pages. Hally would have let out a noise of victory when his face paled instantly, however, Rassilon was currently cutting off all air and blood to her head so all she could manage was an enthused hand wave in his direction.
The Master stepped forward into Rassilon's view. His face was void of any emotion but Hally could see the fury burning behind his eyes. "My Lord President. I suggest you take your hands off her." Rassilon snapped his head to glare at The Master, but before he could cry out in anger The Master continued calmly. "I don't think it'd be in Gallifrey's best interest to choke the future Queen of The Garden to death in front of all her classmates." The Master's tone was sincere, but Hally could hear the sarcasm that laced his words.
Rassilon released her, brushing down his robes as if nothing had happened. He turned to the Chancellor holding the archive. "Well?"
Hally smirked slightly. "Shall you tell him or shall I?" She managed to croak out, she shot Rassilon a look of hatred as her throat burned painfully. The Chancellor spluttered, any remaining blood draining from his face.
"Um… my Lord President. It would seem… well- that a union has already been formed." He swallowed, shrinking away from the terrifying man in front of him.
Rassilon was silent for a few moments, his rage silently racing behind his eyes.
"Have them brought here at once! They shall be executed for this treason." He spat venomously, his voice breaking into a growl.
The Chancellor looked slowly over towards The Master who was now stood behind Rassilon. He plastered a charming smile on his face.
The Chancellor let out a short breath. "A Time Lord Bond has been undertaken, I'm afraid the union is permanent." He winced when Rassilon snatched the archive book out of his hands. His upper lip curled into a snarl as he glared daggers at The Master.
"We'll see about that." He shot Hally a threatening look before sweeping down off the platform and out of the hall. His entourage followed awkwardly, their heads down and pale like a chidden train.
Hally shot The Master a smirk, he winked unapologetically back at her before stepping down off the platform and slinking out of the back door. Hally tried to ignore the fact that everyone in the room was now staring at her. One of the tables at the back of the room burst into a round of applause, she laughed, throwing them a salute as she weaved her way back to Persca.
She let out a soft sigh as she plonked herself back down next to her friend but frowned when she saw her friend's expression. Persca looked horrified and angry. Really angry.
Hally tried to reach out to her but Persca slapped her hand away harshly. "No! Don't you dare." Persca cried out, obviously not caring that they were still surrounded by people. Hally tried to cut in to speak but Persca stood up quickly. "I can't believe you. You lied!" She added furiously.
"I didn't have a choice!" Hally spluttered out desperately, rising to her feet as well, trying to keep her voice hushed. Not that there was much point, a small crowd of people were now intently watching the exchange.
Persca laughed spitefully. "Oh of course. I'm sure you keep telling yourself that! Because the truth is that that man has manipulated you into becoming his perfect little pet!" Hally took a step back in surprise.
"What?!"
"You heard me! All it took was a few months of attention from him and he's got you wrapped around his little finger like some kind of pathetic hussy."
Hally cried out in disbelief. "You have no idea what you're talking about?! Rassilon was going to MARRY ME if I didn't do something?! I didn't see you or anyone else here rushing to help me after what happened yesterday!" She shouted back.
Persca scoffed. "Of course not! The only person who understands you is The Master!" She laughed sarcastically. "You're pathetic." She shook her head and stormed off out of the hall, leaving Hally stood alone in the middle of the circle of onlookers.
Hally's mouth fell open in shock, she stood silently for a few seconds before pulling herself together and swiftly exiting through the door The Master had escaped through a few minutes before.
Hally stormed through the doors of The Master's bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Her skin was flush and she hadn't noticed the tears that had started to streak down her face.
The Master appeared at the door to the bathroom, frowning at the sudden noise. Upon seeing him Hally turned away, not wanting him to make a mocking comment for her current state.
"Don't… just don't." She muttered, irritably wiping the tears from her cheeks.
She jumped slightly when she felt his hands come to rest gently on her shoulders, she hadn't even heard him cross the room. He slowly but deliberately turned her around to face him, she tried to hide her face by staring down at the floor but one of his hands cupped her chin and firmly lifted her head up so he could see into her eyes. He searched them for a moment and Hally flushed at the knowledge that he was examining her memories of what just happened.
She tried to turn her head away but he held her still sternly. The hand that wasn't at her chin came up and brushed away her tears. His eyes never left hers and Hally felt her stomach squirm pleasantly at the intense look he was giving her. Keeping his hand under her jaw, The Master leant in slowly, pressing a firm kiss on her mouth.
Hally let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. The Master took the opportunity and slipped his tongue into her mouth. Hally let out a quiet noise of pleasant surprise as she kissed him back. He was moving slowly and deliberately but Hally could feel him holding back, she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck instinctively, losing herself to the movements of his lips and tongue as he kissed her.
Fuck, he's good at this…
Hally felt The Master smirk against her lips, her cheeks burned red and she pulled away slightly in embarrassment. The Master pulled her back into him roughly, a low growl escaping his throat. Hally felt her back hit the bookcase behind her and instantly The Master's hands had moved to the back of her thighs. Hally let out a gasp as he forcefully pulled her legs out from under her, shifting so his chest was now pressed up against her. His body keeping her still.
She wrapped her legs around his waist, her head hitting the book behind her as she pulled away for breath. His eyes were piercing into hers, the predatory look he was giving her sent pleasurable shivers down her legs. The heat that was radiating from him felt like it was opening up her senses, she could feel everything. His firm grip on the back of her legs, his hearts hammering against her chest, his warm breath on her face. She closed her eyes as he dipped his head and began to nip playfully at her neck. He bit down a little harder on the soft skin of her neck, pressing a chaste kiss over the top of the reddened skin as Hally let out a gasp of surprise. The feel of him so close to her was enticing, she wanted to feel this forever. He was her obsession, and she, his. In that moment she felt so unbelievably powerful that this man, this insane, unpredictable man was slowly losing all control as he kissed at her neck.
One of his hands was now digging painfully into her thigh, but Hally didn't mind. The other had snaked its way up her robe and was pressing into her waist. He was everywhere, he was all over her body and inside her mind. It felt fantastic.
The door to the room was once again flung open and six guards dressed in Gallifreyan military uniform marched their way into the room. Hally gasped and tried to move from the precarious position she was currently in but The Master held her still. He looked calmly over to the uniformed men, his face suddenly schooled into a look of cold indifference.
"Gentlemen?" He asked in a flat voice. Hally squirmed uncomfortably, very aware that both The Master's hands were very obviously in extremely inappropriate places considering they were now not alone. "I'm in the middle of something that requires my undivided attention. Perhaps you could burst in later. Say, 2 hours?" He suggested casually.
"Lord Master, you will be coming with us." The taller man at the front stepped forward and held out a sealed summons. The Master eyed it warily and slowly put Hally down. She awkwardly adjusted her clothing, trying to avoid the eyes of the six men in front of her, as The Master reached out and tore open the letter.
He sighed quietly to himself, a look of sadness flitting across his face. He masked it with a look of general frustration. "Very well." He shot Hally an apologetic look. "I've been unwillingly enlisted to the war effort." He scowled impatiently. "Indefinitely."
Hally looked between The Master and the guards that were now flanking him. "No… no, we can fight this. You're not going!" She made to step forward and grab his arm.
"No. We can't. Listen to me…" The Master held his hand out to stop one of the guards who was making a move to restrain Hally. "Don't make a scene." He added warningly. Two of the guards took hold of The Master by the shoulders, beginning to forcefully escort him out.
"What are you doing?! You can't do this!" She cried out desperately, grabbing at the arm of one of the guards and pulling him back hard. The guard stumbled backwards into the bookcase and looked momentarily shocked at the force she'd managed to use.
"Hal!" The Master shouted in warning. She looked over to him, pleading him to fight back but he just shook his head. "Don't do anything stupid." He shot her a hard knowing glance, before holding up his hands, showing the guards that he would go willingly.
"Koschei…" She whispered, watching as The Master was escorted from his room, down the dark corridor and finally out of sight.