Erm… Hello again. Been awhile, hasn't it? A few months… *ducks to avoid rain of apocalyptic fire coming from readers and reviewers* I have an odd feeling that this is how the Sherlock writers are going to feel…

Alright, I deserved that, I really did. I've left you all hanging on a cliffhanger for MONTHS, which I have a thousand apologies for. I know you're all angry at me and (possibly) relieved that I've written another chapter, so I'll just let you read now.

A: Well, my answer is kind of pointless now, isn't it? BUT I LOVED THE WAY THE WAY THEY INTRODUCED HER. "The Woman Twice Dead" is an interesting title.

Disclaimer: Hey look everybody; I have the rights to Doctor Wh- Hey wait don't take it! No I don't, never mind.

Chapter 15: The Vampires of Venice

Oh shitshitshit… Is it normal to completely freak out after kissing somebody? Well, I did kiss the Doctor multiple times last night, and he is a not-quite-fictional character… This is bad; this is extremely, very not good. What the hell is Amy going to do when-

"Did he kiss you?" said ginger asked as she came into the console room.

I sputtered for a moment frantically before just managing to say, "What?"

"The Doctor," Amy smirked, "I gave him very important instructions; did he follow them?"

My mind went blank, and I'm pretty sure that my mouth was hanging open.

Amy, the Amy who flirted with him, who probably fantasized about him since the day we met her, who tried for a one night stand on the show- Oh, who am I kidding this is nothing like the show. The plot is, yes, but the rest of it? Blown to pieces. I shouldn't even bother making comparisons anymore… But still…

I stood up and walked over to her, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. "Who are you and what have you done with Amelia Pond?"

She laughed and I stopped shaking her, laughing a bit as well. "No, but really though, I'm surprised. I thought you might've tried to kiss him at least."

"Well," Amy mumbled, "I thought about it. And then I decided not to."

"Which is good, since you are a taken woman," I chuckled. "No kissing my Doctor."

"Your Doctor?" Amy looked intensely interested, "So he did kiss you!"

"I never said he didn't," I mumbled, blushing and looking anywhere that wasn't Amy.

"Is he any good?"

"Is who any good?" the Doctor looked at us curiously as he came in from somewhere in the depths of the TARDIS.

"We were discussing your kissing skills," Amy called casually, "Phoenix was just about to tell me how skilled you are."

Amy! Why, oh WHY are you doing this to me! I mean, he's a fan-fucking-tastic kisser, but I don't really want to tell you that, especially not with him in the room LISTENING!

His face flared and he fumbled for words. I was in much the same condition and Amy laughed.

"So…?" she drew out her question.

"Amy!" I groaned and buried my head in my hands before relenting, "He's a fabulous kisser, and I'm not saying anything else."

Amy smirked victoriously and I went to stand by the Doctor on the other side of the console. I buried my face in his shoulder for a moment, before sighing and standing on my tiptoes to place my head on his shoulder.

I felt him smile despite the blushing warmth of our faces, and grinned, pressing a kiss to his cheek before whispering to him, "So now that you know she's getting married, what're you going to do?"

"What do you mean?" he whispered back, though he looked a bit confused about why we were whispering.

"Friends give wedding gifts, Doctor," I chuckled, "I know what I'm doing, what about you?"

He looked momentarily panicked, like giving gifts was a foreign subject. I'll have to make sure that all of us get a proper Christmas. After we finish up A Christmas Carol of course, since the Universe hopefully limits holiday themed adventures to once per year…

"Think of something… couple-ish," I suggested quietly, "Something they both could do."

His eyes lit up with an idea and he turned to me, "You're brilliant!" he shouted, and pressed a kiss to my forehead before running around the console at top speed, flipping levers and switching buttons.

"Why is she brilliant? What's going on?" Amy shouted, barely managing to cling to the console as the room began to shake.

The Doctor just laughed and ran out the door, muttering something about a cake, and I facepalmed, "Oh God, here we go, first one with all of us."

"First what with all of us?" Amy sounded utterly lost, "Where is he going?"

"Amy, this is one thing I'd suggest you stay out of. Just… let's stay here till he gets back. And don't worry too much, okay? Everything's fine, he's just… getting something," I finished lamely.

Ah, this sucks. Sucks, sucks, sucks, worst transition ever. Whatever writer is writing this twisted fanfiction is going to get tossed into the Void at some point. This sucks.

"What are you talking about? Transitions- What?" Amy half shouted.

"Did I say all that out loud?"

"Yes!"

"Oh," I frowned, "Sorry."

"You get stranger by the hour," she deadpanned.

I smiled brightly, "Thank you! Tumblr would be proud."

"What's Tumblr?" Amy frowned.

I sighed. "I can't explain Tumblr, Amy. Tumblr is just Tumblr doing Tumblr-like things. Which is a compilation of very strange things, actually, and it would take forever for me to explain it to you to the point where you could understand it, though it would still sound crazy."

"So we just get to wait now?" Amy asked incredulously.

"Yeah, pretty much," I shrugged, "I'm not really fond of the idea of going where the Doctor's gone, so I'm staying here, and you are saying here because you technically aren't supposed to be there, though I guess you could."

God, I'm off-kilter today. Though, I suppose kissing and flirting with fictional characters can do that to a person.

Before Amy could respond, the Doctor burst through the doors with a grin, Rory following in behind him with a bewildered expression on his face.

"Amy!" Rory shouted with relief, much like he had when we first met him.

Amy looked astonished. "Rory?" she sounded confused, and she whipped her head around to face me, "Did you know what he was doing?"

"Obviously," I chuckled.

The Doctor started moving around the console when a loud ringing noise sounded and sparks flew from the console. Not the cloister bell, just ringing like machine humming, but the kind of humming that you know means, well shit I've got three seconds before something explodes.

"Oh dear," the Doctor mumbled, "That's bad." He dashed down the stairs, tossed his coat on the ground, pulled on some goggles and got to work welding under the console.

I rolled my eyes, laughing lightly, and turned to Rory. "Sorry. He does this all the time."

Rory nodded mutely, his eyes wide as he took in the interior. He didn't look surprised, just overwhelmed. Culture shock, it happens to the best of us. Wait… didn't Nine say that? Great, now I'm quoting in my thoughts, too.

The Doctor started welding, and resumed whatever conversation he was having with Rory.

"Oh! The life out there, it dazzles. I mean, it blinds you to the things that are important. I've seen it devour relationships and plans..." Rory glanced down at the Doctor right as sparks flew from the console, "Ohhh! It's meant to do that."

"In what scenario is the TARDIS meant to throw sparks?" I asked, peering down at him through the floor.

"Oh, hush," he grinned cheekily and I rolled my eyes as he continued, "But 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."

"What, like a date?" Amy asked cautiously. She sent me a look that said, 'Can he even send us someplace peaceful? Is that even possible?'

"Anywhere you want, any time you want," the Doctor said as he came back up the steps to the console.

"One condition," I cut in, "It has to be amazing."

"The Moulin Rouge in 1890!" he said excitedly, "The first Olympic Games! Think of it as a wedding present, because, frankly, it's either this or tokens," he stopped in front of Rory, who was standing only a couple feet in front of my spot perched on the rails with a stunned expression, "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," Rory stated and I snickered as the Doctor continued.

"It's basically another dimen… What?" he frowned, eyeing Rory strangely.

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

"I like the bit when someone says, 'It's bigger on the inside.' I always look forward to that," the Doctor said, stepping inside Rory's personal space intimidatingly.

I hopped down and lightly nudged the Doctor. "I didn't say it," I pointed out.

"But you," he smiled, turning away from Rory to tap me lightly on the nose, "are special."

"So, this date," Amy said, as the Doctor and I moved towards the console, "I'm kind of done with running down corridors. What do you think, Rory?"

Before Rory could answer, the Doctor cut in. "How about somewhere... romantic?" With a quick grin at me, he tossed a lever and set the TARDIS into flight.

We all stepped out of the TARDIS into a busy market, with cobblestone streets and technically-ancient buildings that were currently brand new. People walked past like a big blue box hadn't just appeared in the middle of the market.

"Venice! Venezia!" he shouted with excitement, throwing open his arms, "La Serenissima! Impossible city. Preposterous city!"

He started walking off into the market, the rest of us following after him. Amy and Rory were looking around with amazement. I was a bit overwhelmed myself.

I'm in Venice, ancient freaking Venice. I've always wanted to go to Italy, and now I'm HERE… Okay deep breath, you've already been other places that are even more historically important, this really shouldn't be so exciting. But it is, of course, purely out of the fact that I got here via the TARDIS and it's something like… 1580? Yeah, 1580.

"Founded by refugees running from Attila the Hun," the Doctor continued, "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. Oooh, that reminds me."

He started to check his watch, but I beat him to it. "1580," I said nonchalantly, "Casanova isn't born for another 145 years."

"Oh," he blinked, and then grinned, "Good! Don't want to run into him. I owe him a chicken."

"You owe Casanova a chicken?" Rory asked incredulously.

"Long story," the Doctor tried to cover, "We had a bet."

"I'm going to ask you about that at some point," I chuckled, "What could you possibly bet that he wanted a chicken for?"

Before he could respond, an official dressed in black stepped in front of us. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Papers, if you please. Proof of residency, current bill of medical inspection," he demanded and the Doctor flipped open the psychic paper, looking bored.

"There you go, fella," the man snatched the paper, "All to your satisfaction, I think you'll find."

The man looked surprised, then embarrassed, before bowing deeply. "I am so sorry, Your Holiness. I didn't realize."

The Doctor took the paper back from the official. I tapped him and he handed it to me. I read it as he spoke, "No worries. You were just doing your job. Sorry, what exactly is your job?"

Amy… Viscountess… Rory… eunuch… Doctor… the Pope… He would make himself the Pope, wouldn't he? And I am… The queen of Belgium. Belgium? Not bad, they have magnificent chocolate, but why the queen? Why not a Duchess, or a Lady, or even one of Amy's handmaidens or something?

"Checking for aliens," the man said, pulling me from my thoughts, "visitors from foreign lands what might bring the plague with them."

"Oh, that's nice," I muttered sarcastically, knowing full well that the plague had long since died out.

"See where you bring me?" Amy growled, smacking the Doctor's arm, "The plague!"

"Don't worry, Viscountess," the man bowed to Amy, who sighed, and I handed her 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 pointed to the crest on the case he's holding, which looked just a bit too extravagant for the time period.

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

"Not out there," the man said urgently, "No, Signora Calvierri has seen it with her own eyes. Streets are piled high with bodies, she said."

"Did she now?" I raised an eyebrow. The official hurried off to question some other person as Rory grabbed the paper. We all started to head off towards the water while Rory read the paper.

"According to this, I'm your eunuch!" Rory called.

Amy turned back to him, "Oh, yeah, I'll explain later."

I sighed and rolled my eyes, jogging a bit to catch up with the Doctor.

"Was this another episode?" he asked suddenly, curiosity evident in his voice.

"Why do you ask?" I grinned, peering at him, "Bored already?"

"Yes," he grumbled, pouting slightly.

I laughed lightly and shook my head. "Well, if you're that bored…" I trailed off and he raised his eyes hopefully to mine, "You'll have to wait and see." A smirk slipped over my face as the hope fell off his face to be replaced by disbelief.

"Please?" he pouted.

"Nope," I sang, popping the 'p' as I did, "You like surprises too much."

"I don't like surprises," he grumbled.

"Yes you do," I smiled, casually twining my fingers with his, my smile growing wider when he tightened his grip on my hand a bit.

"Yeah, I do," he relented, smiling a bit. "You were a marvelous surprise."

"Oh, shut up," I rolled my eyes.

"You keep surprising me too," he pressed an affectionate kiss to my hair, and I smiled.

"Good," I replied, smiling. "If I stop surprising you, then we've got a problem."

We paused at a bit of stone railing, leaning on it, Amy and Rory coming up behind us to lean in it too. I glanced up at the castle – well, fortress, really – and held back a shiver. Poor Isabella is in there, being converted into an alien-fish-vampire. What were they called again? Satur-something? Or was that the planet?

A short procession of girls dressed elegantly in white came out of the building, veils covering their faces and umbrellas to keep them out of the admittedly weak sunlight. A man ran past the guards, hurriedly lifting up their veils until he sagged with obvious relief as he found who he was looking for. Then, a man in a cape and a very stupid hat pushed him away from her and stepped on the man, who looked utterly shocked.

I turned away, following the Doctor as he surreptitiously slid through the small crowd.

"Going to talk to him?" I questioned. He jumped slightly, and frowned.

"How do you do that?" he asked, shaking his head.

"Do what?"

"Follow me so quietly, how do you do it?"

I shrugged. "I have a lot of practice at moving quietly."

He looked at me oddly for a moment, then took my hand and guided us down to a passage way. We stood in silence for a moment, then the man – damn it, what was his NAME? – came wandering down the way, looking forlorn.

"Who were those girls?" the Doctor piped up, stepping out of the little arch.

The man frowned. "I thought everyone knew about the Calvierri girls."

"We're new around here," I explained vaguely.

"Parents do all sorts of things to get their children into good schools. They move house, they change religion." The Doctor's voice dropped to a whisper, "So why are you trying to get her out?"

"Something happens in there," the man explained, his voice nervous and begging for us to believe him. "Something magical. Something…evil. My own daughter didn't recognize me. And the girl who pushed me away, her face... like an animal."

The Doctor slung his free arm around the man's shoulders, and we all slowly started walking down the alley. "I think it's time we met this Signora Calvierri."

Guido! Now I remember! Why am I so plain BAD with names? I can remember the gist of an episode, or quote it word for word, but I cannot for the life of me remember people's goddamn names!

"You have my daughter! Isabella!" Guido shouted, trying to push past the guards in front of the gate while the Doctor and I crept along the edge of the wall by the water.

"You're not coming in, we've told you…"

"You have my daughter. Isabella! Let me see my daughter!" he demanded. The Doctor quickly used the sonic on the door and we slipped inside, hands latched together.

"Isabella! It's me! It's your father!" Guido continued shouting as we walked behind the guards.

"I'll arrest you," one threatened.

"Isabella!" he shouted one more time, before walking away despondently.

We padded quietly down a dark, narrow stairway before coming out into an equally dark room. The Doctor glanced around while I leaned against a wall, and walked up to a mirror on the wall. He smirked into it, straightening his bow-tie.

"Hello handsome," he complimented himself.

I rolled my eyes with a snort, walking over to him as he checked his teeth.

"And hello beautiful," he added, pressing a kiss to my head and snatching my hand.

Note to self: Eleven likes holding hands – and it is, quite frankly, adorable.

I glanced into the mirror as well, seeing nothing, then turned around to find five creepily pale girls in white dresses leering at us.

"Doctor?" I nudged him, and he spun around in surprise.

"Who are you?" they all asked in sync.

The Doctor grinned, eyes wide, looking between the mirror and the girls.

"Well that's just plain creepy," I deadpanned.

"How are you doing that?" the Doctor cheered. "I...am...loving it! You're like Houdini, only five scary girls, only he was shorter. Will be shorter."

"You're rambling," I pointed out.

"I'll ask you again, signor, signora. Who are you?"

Alright, creepy-in-sync-talking is really kind of freaking me out now…

"Why don't you check THIS out?" he proudly displayed a black wallet… which had his library card in it. The girls looked at it curiously, slowly creeping closer to us as we backed away.

"That's your library card, Doctor," I reminded him.

"Of course, it's with…" he sighed. "He's… Oh, I need the spare."

I glanced between the mirror and the girls, still slinking closer to us as we backed up little bit by little bit. "Pale, creepy girls who don't like sunlight," I observed, looking pointedly at the Doctor.

"And can't be seen in…" he glanced at the mirror again, and then looked at me excitedly. "Am I thinking what I think I'm thinking?"

I nodded, and he turned to them. "But the city. Why shut down the city? Unless…"

"Leave now, signor, signori," they threatened, "or we shall call for the steward… if you are lucky."

"Ooh!" he grinned, as they came up faster, hissing and barring their fangs.

"Time to go!" I announced, grabbing his hand and tugging him in the direction of the stairs.

"Tell me the whole plan!" he demanded when we reached the foot of the stairs, and they kept hissing. "One day that'll work…"

"Not likely," I chimed, already up a couple of steps and taking him with me.

"Listen, I would love to stay here," he grinned excitedly, "This whole thing... I'm thrilled. Oh, this is Christmas!"

I groaned at his eager fanboy-ing and pulled harshly on his hand, leading the way as we fled up the steps and out of the castle.

"Doctor!" Amy cried as we ran into view of them, "Phoenix!"

"We just saw a vampire!" they exclaimed together, laughing and giggling and jumping up and down, dragging me into it. I quickly detangled myself from the mass of limbs as Rory ran up.

"And creepy girls and everything!" he continued as Amy just repeated, "Vampires!"

"I think we just saw a vampire," he said.

"We just saw some too," I replied, smiling at him. Rory didn't need to feel anymore under-appreciated than he had too, and the sight of Amy and the Doctor freaking out was not exactly helping.

"Yeah, they actually went to their house!" Amy exclaimed, grinning.

"Oh," he blinked. "Right. Well…"

"OK, so, we need to find a way back in there," the Doctor announced, slapping his hands on Rory's cheeks for a moment before moving to me to take my hand.

"What?!" Rory sounded bewildered.

"How do we do that?" Amy asked.

"Back in where?!" Rory continued.

"Come and meet our new friend," I grinned, waving Rory forward as our quartet moved on.

"Where are we going?" he asked me.

"We," I started, "are going to see Guido! We'll take to him, devise a bit of a plan to get back inside the Calvierri School."

He nodded uncertainly, glancing at Amy. "Er, right…"

"Don't worry," I smiled softly at his concern for his fiancée. "We'll all be fine."

"Spoilers!" the Doctor nudged me, trying to look disapproving while simultaneous smiling.

"That's like me telling you that we'll end up running from aliens on an adventure," I pointed out. "Everybody is fine in the end."

And that was true. Rose was fine, Martha was fine, Sarah Jane was fine, Donna was fine, Amy and Rory will be fine – though not in the right period – and I was fairly certain that Clara would be fine too.

Probably. Never really got to see her. I mean, there was the Asylum of the Daleks, and the little snippet of the Christmas special, but that's about it. She seems like she'll be fine, though.

The Doctor smiled, albeit a bit sadly, and I tightened my grip on his hand. I hadn't ever really caught up with the Classic Who, but there were probably a couple Companions who were not fine in the end. The only one I knew of recently who had died was River, and technically, she was still alive. The Brigadier died at the end of Season 6, but he'd been happy and lived his life, he hadn't died on an alien planet or at the fault of the Doctor.

He tightened his grip on my hand in return and we kept walking.

I yawned briefly from my spot in a chair by the window in Guido's house, as aforementioned man pulled out a map of the House of Calvierri, watching the early evening sky. Amy and the Doctor looked over it, whilst Rory sat on some barrels by the fireplace.

"As you saw, there's no clear way in," Guido began. "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 realized.

"No," the Doctor answered swiftly, frowning.

"You don't even know what I was going to say!" Amy protested.

"You were going to suggest enrolling in the school and opening up the doors for them," I said, standing and going to look at the map. "Which is a stupid idea – you can't go in there alone."

"Absolutely not!" the Doctor grounded out as Rory shouted, "Are you insane?!"

"Quite possibly," I shrugged.

"It's not like we have any other option," Amy pointed out.

"He said no, Amy," Rory pressed. "Listen to him."

"There is another option," Guido pointed in Rory's direction and he looked surprised. "I work at the Arsenale. We build the warships for the navy."

The Doctor went over and sniffed the barrels, clasping a hand on Rory's shoulder. "Gunpowder. Most people just nick stationary from where they work."

Rory slowly slid off the barrel and backed into a dead rabbit, making him jump in horror. I stifled a giggle at his expression.

"Look," the Doctor continued, not noticing, "I've got a thing about guns and huge quantities of explosives."

"What do you suggest, then? We wait until they turn her into an animal?" Guido snapped, then turned away to poke at the fire.

"We'll be there three, four hours tops…" Amy trailed off.

The Doctor frowned at her. "No. No, no, no, no, no, no. It can't keep happening like this. This is how they go." He dropped down onto the barrels and put his head in his hands.

I let out a sigh, and shook my head. "But we'll be fine, Doctor. I promise you that we'll be fine. And we have to know what's going on in there, and the only way to find out is to get inside."

Well, Amy will be fine. I'm always going to be the wild card here.

"I can't send you in there anyway, they'll recognize you." He gave a pointed glance at my hair.

I ran a hand through the mess of waves and color. "Give me half an hour and they won't think I'm the same person, much less the intruder from earlier."

Amy looked shocked. "How could you do that?"

"There are ways," I said vaguely. "It'll come to you."

"Oh," she realized. "Oh. Will you need help?"

"Eh. Maybe."

"What on Earth are you talking about?" the Doctor frowned.

"My methods of disguise," I replied. "Trust me, it'll work."

He let out a great sigh, relenting. "Fine. Fine, we'll say you're my daughters."

"I'm your girlfriend, not your daughter," I reminded him, and he made a face.

"Right," he nodded, "Phoenix will be my fiancée and Amy can be your sister."

"No, wait, they've already seen you," Amy pointed out.

"Rory could do it," I suggested and the man recoiled.

"What?" he asked, bewildered.

"Yeah!" Amy grinned, playfully ruffling his hair, "You can be our brother!"

"No," I shook my head. "He's your fiancé, and I'm your sister."

Amy nodded slowly, and Rory still looked like a cross between enraged and confused.

"This whole thing is metal!" he exclaimed. "I mean, they're vampires for God's sake!"

"We hope," the Doctor corrected.

"So if they're not vampires…" Amy trailed off.

"Makes you wonder what could be so bad it doesn't actually mind us thinking it's a vampire?" the Doctor made little vampire teeth with his hand and I snorted, rolling my eyes.

"You are a complete dork," I said affectionately, and he pouted. I smiled and kissed him softly for a moment before spinning to face Amy. "Come on, Amy! I'm going to need a hand."

We stood in the middle of a mostly-empty throne room, where the queen of alien-vampire-fish people was sitting on a golden throne. Amy and I were on either side of Rory, us wearing some of Isabella's old clothes while Rory wore Guido's.

My completely-altering disguise had worked perfectly. I had dyed my hair the darkest black the TARDIS could give me, much to the Doctor's utter shock. He hadn't recognized me when I walked back into Guido's quaint little house, and after he realized it was me, had gone off complaining about the loss of my red hair.

"So, basically, both of their parents are dead from getting the plague. I'm a gondola...driver... so... money's a bit tight... So having my sister go to your school for special people would be brilliant. Cheers," Rory finished lamely, and I resisted the all-too-frequent urge to face-palm.

The male fish-vampire moves to stand in front of Amy. "Have we met?" he asks, leering at her.

"I've just got one of those faces," Rory started.

"Not you," he interrupted.

"…Oh," Rory replies meekly.

"Carlo, explain yourself," Signora Calvierri sighed, turning to the servant. "Why have you brought me this imbecile?"

"Signora, they have references from the King of Sweden," Carlo explained, and her eyes widened.

"What?! Let me see," she held out her hand and Rory passed her the psychic paper nervously. Her eyes flashed with recognition. "Well, now I can see what got my steward so excited," she forced a smile and handed the paper back to Rory. "What say you, Francesco? Do you like them?"

Francesco slowly started to circle Amy and I, like a shark. Apt, considering he's a freaking FISH.

"Oh, I do, Mother," he sighed longingly. "I do."

"Then we would be delighted to accept them. Say goodbye to your fiancée and her sister," Signora instructed Rory, who was already being led away.

"Tell His Holiness that we'll be seeing him soon," I said, waving slightly while Amy watched him nervously.

Rory's eyes widened and pointed behind us just before the door closed. "A-Amy!"

I glanced over at Amy casually and Francesco took a step back, snapping his mouth shut to hide the fangs I knew were there. I smiled sweetly at him, in that way that says fuck-off-or-I'll-beat-you-to-death.

Signora Calvierri instructed Carlo to take us to some chambers, and he quickly guided us from the room. He led us up some stairs, various girls scattered around, longing in windowsills and just generally everywhere. I kept my head down, in case any of them had seen me earlier. The hair might throw them off, but they might recognize my face or my eyes.

When I drew me, why did I have to make the eyes purple? What was the point of that? I guess it was the purple eyes with the red hair, but really. Who has purple eyes? It just makes you stand out, very easy to spot, and completely NOT NORMAL LOOKING.

We were led to a large, beautiful room filled with beds. A number of girls were waiting around, while one dark skinned girl sat on the edge of her bed looking petrified.

"There are clothes on the beds," Carlo gestured to two beds. "Get changed and wait here."

"Blimey," Amy muttered. "This is private education then?"

He left, the other girls trickling after him one by one, leering at us creepily. As soon as they were all gone, Amy smiled at her.

"Hey," she greeted. "Hello. I'm Amy, and this is Phoenix. What's your name?"

"I-Isabella," she stuttered out nervously.

Amy and I shared a glance before sitting on either side of her.

"We're going to get you out of here," I told her.

"But we need you to tell us what's going on. What is this place? What are they doing?" Amy continued urgently.

"They, um...they come at night," she said nervously. "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 in there?" I asked gently.

"I wake up here," she answered, "And the sunlight burns my skin like candle wax."

A bell tolled and Amy and I shared wary glances.

So, I've finally updated. Again, I'm truly, truly sorry about how long it's taken, and about how crappy this chapter is. It is definitely not my best work, and I haven't really addressed the whole kiss yet. I think right now the Doctor and Phoenix are continuing onwards as normal, just sharing little kisses and hand holding. I'm really, really fond of the hand holding.

ALSO: The pairing name I choose for these two is…. Thenix! Theta/Phoenix (Theta was a nickname of the Doctor's at the Academy on Gallifrey. The only reason I'm not making it his actual name is because it could still be canonically proven otherwise and where would that leave me?)

Q: We've had Clara Oswin Oswald in three episodes now: Asylum of the Daleks, The Snowmen, and The Bells of Saint John. What do you think of her?

Reviews help keep me writing, no matter how long they are!

FF4E