DISCLAIMER: I don't own Doctor Who

It had been four days since the naming ceremony and Persca was beginning to worry about the mental state of her friend. Since she had found Hally taking refuge in their dormitory on the night of the naming ceremony she had been acting even stranger than usual, forcing them both to walk unfathomable routes to classes and hide out in their dormitory during mealtimes.

Persca had initially been quite thankful that Hally was now apparently avoiding The Master, however after being roughly pulled into abandoned classrooms and storage cupboards for the last four days, Persca's patience was beginning to dwindle as Hally's behaviour started to head towards paranoia.

"Seriously, what is going on!" Persca whispered venomously after being pulled behind a large ornate sculpture that stood against the wall of one of the Eastern corridors. Instead of responding Hally only shot her a dark scowl, motioning for her to be quiet. Hally strained her neck and peaked around a golden curve of the sculpture seeking to check on the flurry of red robes she had spotted exiting the research facility moments ago. She breathed out a small sigh of relief as the robes disappeared down a busy corridor, straightening herself up.

Persca grabbed her arm and whirled her around, squaring up to Hally. "You can't stop and hide every single time you see a member of the Council! Hally, what is going on? What did he do?" Persca's grip on Hally's arm was as tight as a vice, her voice low and full of concern.

Hally shook her head, looking over her shoulder to check no-one was paying them any attention. "No- he didn't-, nothing happened. I promise." Hally saw Persca's jaw clench and unclench as her friend began to despair.

"No. Don't do that. Don't brush me off because something must have happened, otherwise, you wouldn't be acting like such a psycho!" Persca growled lowly.

Hally sighed softly. "Persca…" She paused for a moment, considering how she would even begin to explain all the conflicting thoughts that had been plaguing her mind for the last few days. Hally shook her head, looking Persca in the eye. "Forget it. Persca everything is fine. I need you to believe me." Hally chewed her lip guiltily as she watched Persca's face drop momentarily before she smiled slightly.

"Shall we go to the library, we've got that arithmancy assignment due next week and I'd like to get a head start?" Hally nodded at her friend, thankful for the involuntary change in subject and followed Persca down the corridor to the library, helping her friend take down a few of the books they'd need for the assignment. The pair took their seats at one of the large round tables in the centre of the library. Persca began perusing a thin leather-bound book, jotting down a few notes every once in a while.

Hally watched her friend for a few moments, her own pen hovering over a blank page. The truth was Hally knew she'd been acting irrationally over the past few days, however, the sudden thoughts that she'd had when The Master had cornered her that day had caught her by surprise. Not wanting to dwell on where her mind was so desperate to wander, Hally had instinctively tried to avoid The Master, hoping that a few days without his infuriating presence would squash the unwanted thoughts. However, as each day passed Hally had only grown more and more afraid of seeing The Master and the thoughts that she'd barricaded to the back of her mind had only intensified.

Hally couldn't concentrate, she couldn't think without her mind automatically wandering to the fanatical image she had conjured, she could almost feel the prickly heat of The Master's chest as she'd envisaged pulling him into her embrace, pressing his lips desperately to her own. Hally let out a short breath, shaking her head and brushing her hair out of her now uncomfortably warm face. Hally ran a hand through her hair irritably, a small flame of irritation igniting in her belly.

This is so inappropriate! I hate him. I'd never want to kiss him! What I really want is to punch him in that smug, stupid fa-!"

Hally's thoughts were interrupted by the loud bang of the library door being opened at force. The entire library seemed to pause to turn and see what had caused the offensive noise. Both Hally and Persca shifted in their seats so they could get a better look at the library entrance, through which two of the younger members of the High Council were now visible. The only sound that could be heard was the light swish of their robes as they briskly made their way through the library. The current occupants watched in confusion and interest, expecting their Councillors to provide some sort of explanation for their sudden intrusion. Hally turned to Persca, shooting her a confused look. However, Percsa's eyes remained trained on the two newcomers, her face getting paler by the second. Hally frowned at the obvious concern that now marred her face, but when Persca finally shot Hally a look of warning she began to understand that her situation was almost certainly about to get worse.

She looked back and watched as her suspicions were confirmed, the Councillor's were making a beeline directly towards their table, their eyes fixed firmly on Hally. She swallowed nervously and considered if it would be possible for her to make a break for it through the still open library doors. Coming to the conclusion that there was no way she'd be able to fight her way out of this one, Hally stood up slowly leaving her belongings on the desk behind her. Now was not the time to cause a scene, especially with so many curious eyes watching.

The two Councillors finally reached her and without a word, the taller of the two, Councillor Jax she thought, took Hally by the upper arm and led her silently out of the room. Hally looked over her shoulder, shooting Persca what she hoped was a comforting glance as she allowed the Councillors to escort her out of the library. Hally bit her tongue in order to keep herself silent, figuring that until she knew what the hell was going on it'd be best to say nothing at all.

Hally's hearts began to thrum frantically in her chest as she found herself being escorted out of the academy and into the Citadel's tower. Her mind was working overtime trying to figure out what had happened, had they found out about Xia? Had The Master finally given up and ratted her out after she'd taken to avoiding him? Just as Hally felt like she was going to explode with suspense, the two Councillor's paused outside what Hally recognised to be the chamber of the High Council.

I'm screwed.

She shot a questioning look at Jax, who still had his hand wrapped around her upper arm. He ignored her and placed his hand upon a panel next to the sealed golden double doors. There was a slow hiss and Hally watched as the doors slowly heaved themselves open. The room inside was fairly dark and was lit only by a hanging lamp, the fixture of which descended high up into the seemingly never-ending darkness of the ceiling above. Hally was pulled into the room and heard the pained hiss of the door closing behind her. Eight pairs of suspicious eyes swivelled to look at her, Hally quickly tried to school her expression not wanting to appear guilty or afraid.

Jax manoeuvred her towards a silver chair that had been positioned at the end of a long wooden table where the majority of the High Council now sat, watching intently. Hally sat and Jax took his place at one of the far seats. The room remained eerily silent and Hally felt a pang of dread as she noticed that The Master wasn't present.

Hally could feel their eyes boring into her and although she wanted nothing more than to look away, she kept her chin up, looking each Councillor in the eye silently.

Finally, one of them spoke, he was sat furthest away from Hally and his clasped hands came to rest on the table in front of him as he leant forward. "Where is he?"

Hally couldn't help the slight widening of her eyes in surprise, she coughed softly. "Where is who?" She replied, trying to sound a lot more confident that she was currently feeling.

The Councillor narrowed his dark brown eyes, Hally could practically feel the distrust rolling off him. "Where is the Doctor?"

Sorry for the short chapter! I promise I will try and get the next one up soon to make up for it!