Danni laughed loudly as Homer Simpson was dragged out of the feminist convention, complaining to Marge that he was full of potato salad. Amy sat next to her, chuckling but still not quite as awake as Danni. Both girls held a mug in their hands, Danni's had tea in it while Amy had a very strong cup of coffee.
"I know I've said it before," Danni told her, "But I can't begin to tell you how glad I am that The Simpsons exists in this universe. I don't know what I'd do if I never got to see this show again."
"It is a classic." Amy replied sleepily and Danni nodded.
"It is." Danni agreed, "And I'm loving the fact I can watch episodes that hadn't even been broadcast in my universe. That one about Homer's dog was lovely." The door opened and the Doctor appeared, flopping on the giant couch between the two girls. His arm wrapped itself around Danni's shoulder, pulling her slightly towards him.
"I should have known you'd been in here." He told the two, "I went to the kitchen, but it was still in tack so I figured you can't have been cooking yet." Danni pulled her tongue out at him and he smiled cheekily.
"It's Saturday. Saturday means Saturday morning cartoons." She explained, motioning to the giant screen with her mug.
"And how do you know that?" The Doctor asked, surprised. Humans could never tell the passage of time within the TARDIS, that's why bedtime was always just after they'd had an adventure, when they were tired out from all the running.
"Everyday's Saturday here, isn't it? You skip the boring days, and the only really exciting day is Saturday." Danni reasoned.
"Wait, doesn't that mean that every morning you have to watch cartoons?" Amy asked and Danni smiled.
"Who wouldn't want to watch cartoons every morning?" Danni replied, "Oh Amelia, you grew up way too much in them 14 years." She looked at the Doctor, "I never had this issue with Rose, you know? We'd have watch Spongebob Squarepants for hours if you hadn't have interrupted us."
"We were supposed to be going to Scotland..." The Doctor began to defend before shaking his head, "Nevermind. We're going somewhere I've not been in... well, since my seventh body I think." He frowned in thought before shrugging and standing up, "I've left you a dress in the wardrobe, you'll both need to get changed. Hurry up, no more chit chatting." He placed a kiss on Danni's lips before ruffling Amy's hair. Amy batted him away with a semi-annoyed frown and he bounded out, scolding them for already taking too long. Danni sighed and paused the television with the massive remote used to control it. She placed the mug in her hands down on the coffee table and stood up, stretching out her back with a pop.
"This better be good." Danni told Amy as they headed out and towards the wardrobe, "Seriously, it'd better be worth interrupting my cartoons."
~0~0~0~
The Doctor stuck his head out of the door, looking left and right before grinning and chucking both of the TARDIS doors open.
"Welcome to Arthadia!" He cried, stepping onto the field they had landed on. Just into the distance stood a large castle-like building on a hill surrounded by small stone houses, a wall surrounding the town. Amy stepped out in a white cotton floor length dress with a green waistcoat-like top over it, her hair pulled back modestly.
"Why do we have to dress up and you still look like a geography teacher?" She asked. The Doctor straightened his jacket self-consciously.
"To get a real feel for a place, you have to dress the part." He told her without acknowledging her comment.
"And the geography teacher look is as ancient here as it is anywhere." Danni stated as she stepped out wearing a similar outfit to Amy, except instead of the green waistcoat she had a leather corset over the top of the cotton dress, "It's all right for you, my chest is killing me in this."
"Your chest is perfect." He replied instantly before blushing deeply, "Shut up, Pond. Why are we stood around chatting?" He stalked off and Amy turned to Danni.
"That's why we're dressed up." She said and Danni laughed, "So he can see you in tight clothing."
"I can't help it if I look fantastic." Danni replied, grabbing her hand and the two followed him towards the town.
"So, where are we?" Danni asked, taking his hand in her other and joining them all up in the chain. She loved holding his hand, it covered hers completely and made her feel safe and secure. She rarely felt secure, she could jump off anywhere and as much as she tried to hide it, she never felt she could do anything important without the fear of jumping somewhere unexpectedly. She'd even managed to get her showers down to four minutes under the water and seven drying off and getting changed, just in case she appeared somewhere mid-way.
"Arthadia." He told her, "It was developed as a medieval-themed amusement planet set around the legend of King Arthur in the 57th century. You paid a fee and could do anything from being a peasant for a day to ruling as king for a week. The joys of medieval life without the death and disease. The most you got was the chance to 'catch' the black death, and if you did you got a free day pass and a commemorative mug." He explained as they reached the edge of the town, "Then one day, for no reason at all, the planet shut down all of it's defences and no one could enter or leave. That was about..." He looked at his watch, "four hundred years ago. The planet took on it's theme and they now believe this is how they have always lived."
"So are we the first new people in years?" Amy asked and he nodded. They approached the town square which was full to the brim of people bustling around eagerly. Someone banged into Danni as they rushed past and up to one of the many stalls lining the edges.
"Nice to see people had manners back in the day." She grumbled, rubbing her arm. The Doctor chucked his arm over her shoulder.
"Well, I wasn't going to bring you to any old boring day, was I?" He replied as they made their way to the centre. Danni looked up, seeing the decorations dangling from the buildings surrounding them, then looked at all the people who were dressed in what was obviously their finest clothes. Children were running about happily and stall holders were shouting their wares to the massive crowd.
"It's like a giant street party." Amy pointed out, echoing her thoughts, "So, something royal, right?"
"Well done Pond." The Doctor congratulated, "It's a coronation. The coronation of King Danzeil the Fourth, to be precise." He pointed at the castle-like building, which Danni surmised was actually a castle even though it didn't have a pointy tower like the ones she imagined her head, "He should appear on that balcony in about half an hour, plenty of time to blend in and have a look around." He pushed Amy slightly to get her moving, "Go on, I'm not always going to be there to hold your hand Amelia. Meet us back here before the new king emerges." Amy rolled her eyes.
"If you just wanted time alone, you just had to ask." She told him before walking off. The Doctor, cheeks still slightly tinted pink, took Danni's hand.
"I've got something to show you." She shot him a pleasantly confused look and followed him to a stall covered in small items, most caked in dirt. He motioned to them with his free hand.
"These are artefacts discovered by the farmers and dedicated diggers of the planet, alluding to the past of Arthadia." He picked up a small square plaque-like object, still covered in dirt, "Everything is written in English, which isn't a language that lasted so no one has been able to translate what is written on the objects that they find."
"Until now, right?" She asked and he grinned at her.
"Exactly." He began rubbing some of the dirt away with his thumb before handing it to her, "If you would, milady." She giggled and took it off him. The dirt had revealed a cartoon of the castle in the centre of the town with the words 'Arthadia, Where Everyone is Royalty' scrawled around it in a circle. She frowned in confusion and squeezed it slightly, feeling it's plastic body. She then flipped it over, revealing a metal panel on the back.
"It's a fridge magnet." She breathed in disbelief. True to her word back on New Earth, whenever she could she had picked up a fridge magnet or something similar from every planet they had landed on. She had quite the collection on a giant sheet of metal that had appeared on her bedroom wall straight after she had bought her first one on a farm planet Ten had taken her to with Martha.
"They're from the gift shops that were dotted around the planet." He explained, "Trinkets from holidays that never took place made into the history of a new planet." She stared at it in wonder before turning to the stall owner.
"Excuse me," She called, catching the man's attention, "Can you tell me what this is please?" She handed it over to him and he flipped it over a couple of times, rubbing some more of the dirt off.
"Ahh, yes. This is believed to be an offering to the god 'Royalty', who is said to be the god who watched over the kings of old, as the name is always accompanied with these pictures of castles." She nodded, a smile on her face as he handed it back.
"So, there were multiple gods?" She inquired.
"Yeah, er..." He looked around his stock, picking up a pencil and showing her the name of a ride scrawled up the side of it, "Pencils like this were used by scribes when writing messages to the gods. This particular one has the god of Knowledge's name written up the side. Some people believe that they thought inscribing items with the name of a particular god meant that the items were blessed by the god, and in turn so were they. So, someone using a pencil with the god of knowledge's name would learn more as a result." The Doctor watched her take the pencil off the man, nodding along as he continued to tell her about other items he had for sale. He smiled widely as she bit her lip, concentrating hard on what she was being told as she committed it to memory. She turned to show him the pencil, blinking in surprise them smiling shyly at his gaze.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked him.
"I'm just enjoying seeing all this through your eyes." He told her, "You're always just happy to learn something new." She blushed and nudged him gently.
"It helps when I have a wonderful teacher." They grinned at each other before the Doctor turned to the man, holding out some bronze coins he hand pulled from his never-ending pockets.
"We'll take the 'Royal' offering." He told the man, who nodded and took the money happily.
"I'll give you the pencil as well. It's not often I get a young lady as interested in history as yourself." She grinned happily and bobbed her head.
"Oh, thank you so much!" She exclaimed, "Have a wonderful day!" The man chuckled to himself.
"You too, fair maiden." The Doctor offered her his arm and they continued on, Danni still examining the magnet.
~0~0~0~
They met up with Amy as the crowd began to gather underneath the balcony ready for the new king to appear. Danni showed Amy the magnet and pencil and explained the two stories behind the items. They were interrupted as the doors to the balcony were thrown open and a man stepped out. He had dark skin and slicked-back hair, a jewel encrusted crown perched on his head. He wore a deep red suit and a long fur cape. He looked out over the crowd, a bored look on his otherwise handsome face.
"Citizens of Arthadia!" He called out, "My name is Danziel Mason Jakral and today the God Almighty chose me to rule over you as your new king!" The crowd cheered loudly as the man held his arms aloft, drinking in the adulation greedily. Danni frowned and looked up at the Doctor, who had his arms wrapped around her waist.
"He seems a bit full of himself." She pointed out over the noise.
"They believe their monarchs are heaven sent to rule over them. It's the same as the beliefs from medieval Britain. Each king is viewed as a demi-god, it's his birthright." He explained. She bit her lip, still frowning and looked back at the king.
"How fascinating." She remarked.
"As your new ruler, I shall uphold our traditions and..." He was cut off by a flash of white light which seemed to consume him. There was silence before the crowd erupted into chaos.
"Well," Amy shouted over the commotion, "I'm guessing that wasn't supposed to happen." The Doctor shook his head.
"No, that's new." He took hold of both girls hands and dragged them through the crowd. They approached some official-looking men at the door to the castle and the Doctor let go of Amy's hand to pull out his psychic paper.
"Hello, I'm part of the national guard inspecting witchcraft and other supernatural things. These are my two..." he trailed off, regarding the two girls for a moment then turning back to the men, "assistants. As you can see by this very official-looking document, I'm very official and you have to let us in." Danni stared at him, eyebrows raised in disbelief as the two men shared a look, obviously bemused by the man in the strange outfit but they let him in regardless. The paper had held the kings official seal after all, and if they hadn't they'd be in trouble. The Doctor nodded his thanks and proceeded to bound up the grand staircase that greeted them, taking the steps two at a time and leaving his two 'assistants' on their own.
"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Danni asked, "Do we follow him or are we supposed to be doing our own snooping?" Amy shrugged.
"I say we follow him. All the action is going to be happening upstairs." Danni nodded in agreement and they began up the stairs.
"I swear he used to be better at this." Danni told Amy, "He used to leave instructions to his lowly assistants. We're not bloody mind readers."
"He just gets caught up in the moment sometimes. Usually when you're here, I think he's showing off." Amy replied, smirking slightly when Danni blushed, "Oh, you know you love it." Danni shot her a dark look then giggled, nodding.
"I do." She admitted, and she did. She loved that he felt he had to show off to her. That he had to impress her. He didn't, just being himself impressed her enough but it was nice to feel like she was worth the effort.
"If you just let me have a look..." They heard the Doctor argue and they followed his voice to a large room where he was stood with a group of people. One woman, with very sophisticated clothes and a small crown on her head, a queenly figure if Danni had ever seen one, shook her head and glared angrily at the Doctor.
"Absolutely not. This is witchcraft and no one knows of you, Doctor." She bit his name out and Danni rolled her eyes. Another set of royals he'd managed to impress.
"Begging you pardon, Your Majesty," She stepped forward and curtsied, keeping her gaze downcast, "This man knows of what he speaks. I was under a witches curse for three years and he saved me from it's hold. If anyone can save the king from the same fate, it's the Doctor." The woman looked her up and down, scrutinizing every inch of her and Danni fought the urge to shrink away.
"What curse, child?" She demanded.
"I fell upon the witch accidentally one day as I was walking home from the market, and we both crashed to the floor. She punished me by turning me into a hag, covered in boils and pox marks, my face twisted horribly. But the Doctor saved me, and not one remains." She held out her arms for the woman to inspect. The queen stepped forward and inspected her closely.
"Remarkable." She breathed before turning to guards blocking their way into the room, "Let him through." The guards didn't seem to like the idea but did as they were told. Danni and Amy followed him out onto the balcony.
"You just lied to the queen." The Doctor whispered as he pulled out his screwdriver discreetly.
"Says he who was knighted and banished at the same time by queen Victoria." She retorted.
"Wait, what?" Amy asked, confused. Danni shot her a smile.
"I'll tell you later. It's a great story. It's got werewolves in it." Amy's eyes lit up at the promise.
"They weren't really werewolves. It was a Lupine Wavelength Haemovariform" The Doctor replied.
"And they weren't really vampires, are you going to change the story to 'fish people take over Venice'?" Danni teased and he pouted as he scanned the air, reading the results quickly.
"Short range teleport." He declared as he pushed the end of the screwdriver back down, "Something close has taken him.
"Can you reverse it?" Amy asked and the Doctor nodded.
"Easily." He boasted, "But we don't know who or what took him. We don't want to alarm them by taking him back."
"So, you don't have any idea who it could have been?"
"Why don't we ask him?" Danni interrupted, motioning to the king who had just reappeared behind them. He looked very dazed as he stared over at them before passing out, Amy and Danni catching just before he hit the floor.
"Woah, he's heavy." Amy said through gritted teeth, "Get him inside." The Doctor grabbed one leg as the two red-heads dragged Daniel inside, the Doctor's efforts not really helping. The queen gasped as they laid his down on the floor.
"Danziel!" She cried, dropping to the ground next to him and stroking his hair. His eyes flickered opened and he stared up at his wife.
"I'm sorry." he whispered before passing out again. The Doctor felt his neck gently.
"He's still alive, he's just in shock." he reassured her before standing up and rubbing his hands together, "Right, I need access to the roof. Where is it?" The queen nodded and turned to the guards.
"Take him to wherever he wants to go." She commanded and they bowed to show their obedience. The trio followed them out of the room and they headed towards to way upwards.
"So, what's wrong with him?" Amy asked quietly, not believing he had just collapsed out of shock.
"I don't know. His pulse was incredibly regular for someone who had just been laid out by shock." He replied grimly.
"Do you think they've given him something? Maybe a parasite alien or something?" The Doctor shook his head.
"If it was a parasite, he'd be thriving not passed out on the floor. I need to find out more about the ship." The guards paused by a door.
"This is the way to the roof, sir." One stated. The Doctor smiled at him.
"Yes, er, thank you. We'll head upstairs, you just wait here. We'll call you if we need anything." He saluted them awkwardly before he headed up the stairs behind the doorway. Danni and Amy smiled apologetically at them for his behaviour and followed him onto the roof. The crowd was still gathered outside, all wanting to see what had happened to their new king. Amy shielded her eyes as she looked up towards the sky.
"Do you think they're up there?" She asked. The Doctor pointed his screwdriver upwards and scanned further, able to do a more thorough search without the fear of being caught.
"There's something there, but I'm not sure what." He stated slowly, smacking the end of the screwdriver against his palm and trying again, "There's a sort of forcefield around the planet, well not a forcefield but it's kind of like a forcefield and it's the reason no one was able to access the planet for so long. I can't get a proper reading from here." He placed the screwdriver back into his pocket, "We need to get back to the TARDIS."
"Okay." Amy replied, "What do we tell the queen? They're not going to believe aliens took him."
"We'll say we need to get supplies, will be back in the morning." He replied.
"We can't just leave him alone. What if they've done something to him and he tries to slaughter the royal family?" The Doctor nodded slowly in agreement.
"Right, new plan; I'll go back for the TARDIS, you two stay here and keep an eye on the king. If someone goes wrong, you can ring me and I'll come back."
~0~0~0~
The Doctor explained to the queen that he needed to go grab some detection equipment, to ensure the king hadn't been placed under a curse that may activate at a later date. Happy to have her husband back, from what appeared to be the Doctor's intervention, the queen gave him free rein over the kingdom, just telling him to be quick. Amy and Danni stayed in the castle to keep an eye out for any strange occurrences, such as whoever took him coming back. They were in a small sitting room, Danni and Amy sat together on one sofa as the king and queen sat across from them, the queen fusing over her husband. He batted her away with a groan, holding his head in his other hand. They'd been arguing about his health for the last twenty minutes and Danni glanced at Amy, who was sat there with a frown on her face. She seemed to be becoming as impatient with their bickering as Danni was, so she sat forward, clearing her throat uncertainly.
"Excuse me, Your Majesty." Danni apologised, drawing their attention from the fight to her, "I was wondering if you could tell us more about where you went..." He glared at her, causing her to trail off.
"You will not be able to understand, let alone deduce anything from what I can tell you, you silly girl. I saw things you couldn't even begin to imagine, so shut up." He snapped back. She narrowed her eyes angrily at him.
"I am not a silly girl!" She argued back, "I know more about this than you think, but I need to know where you went." He stood up and stormed over to her, hovering above her menacingly.
"How dare you talk to me like that?" Danni shot up, glaring up at him.
"No, how dare you? I don't care if you think your heaven sent or even God himself, that gives you no right to talk down to me." He seemed to deflate at this and she smiled gently at him, "I know you're scared Your Majesty, but the Doctor can help. And so can me and Amy, but we need your help." He muttered something, turning away from her and she looked at Amy, who seemed just as confused as she did.
"Sorry?" Danni asked.
"I said there is no God!" He shouted, his wife gasping and causing Danni to blink at him in shock at the pure anger on his face.
"Danziel, you can't mean that." His wife exclaimed, standing up and walking over to him, placing a hand on his arm, "That's blasphemy..." He shrugged her hand off his arm.
"There is no blasphemy when there is no God."
"But you were chosen to rule over this kingdom by him." She argued. He leant in close, the queen backing up in fear.
"There is no God." He bit out, "This is all a lie. We are all a lie and I won't have be a part of it any longer." He turned and stormed out. The queen held her hand out lamely as if trying to stop him before her tears began falling from her eyes. Amy shot up and pulled her in for a hug, which the queen took gratefully.
"My poor Danziel." She wept, "What have they done to him?" Amy rubbed her back soothingly.
"We don't know, but the Doctor will figure it out." Amy promised, looking at Danni with concern. Danni turned to the door which the King had stormed out of.
"You should rest, Your Majesty." Danni stated suddenly, "Lie down and rest for a while. The king will need you in top condition if he is to come out the other side of this." The queen let go of Amy and wiped her eyes, taking a deep breath.
"No, even if he is not well, our kingdom needs someone to direct them. I should go explain that he is unwell, and we'll attempt the coronation again tomorrow." Danni nodded slowly.
"That is probably a better idea." She agreed and the queen smiled, patting her arm as she headed out of the room.
"That is why I'm queen, my dear. If you want to go talk to Danziel, he will most likely be in his quarters." She told the two girls as she left with two guards. Danni laughed slightly, impressed.
"Oh, I like her."
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