Counting With Fairies Ch 8

Chapter 8

Several more Poikyo with long spears appeared and began to poke the Doctor and Sally in the back.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch.  Alright, we're moving," the Doctor said.  "All you had to do was say please."

Sally smiled, despite their situation.  The Doctor certainly hadn't lost his sense of humor.  They were led to a corner of the cavern.  Several Poikyo kept their spears pointed at them while another Poikyo flew over their heads.  Sally felt something around her ankle.  She looked down and saw a glowing rope tying itself around her ankle.  Blue dust was sprinkled over their heads.  Sally let out a gasp.  Their bodies began to float and they floated right up to the ceiling of the cave.  The guards that had been watching them seemed satisfied with their captives and flew away to join other groups of Poikyo in different parts of the cave.

"When they said luck us up, they really meant lock us up," the Doctor said.  He looked down at the floor beneath his floating body.  He reached down and tugged at the golden rope around his leg.  After several tugs, he pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the rope.  Nothing.  He didn't have a setting for fairy dust.  He released the rope with a heavy sigh.

"Enchanted rope?"  Sally asked.

"Yes," the Doctor's voice was almost a deep growl.

"No chance of getting free from enchanted rope?"

"No."

Sally sighed and looked around.  The cave was simply amazing and the blue Poikyo that flew around inside the cave were fascinating to watch.  If she hadn't been a captive, Sally was sure she would love this time in the cave.  Exotic creatures and beautiful ancient paintings.  Really, it was quite incredible.

The Doctor had been busy surveying his surroundings and the actions of the Poikyo.  He heard Sally sigh.  "Don't worry Sally, I'll get us out of this.  I usually do."

"You usually do?  What, Doctor, do you often get taken captive by other creatures?"  Sally asked him.

"Um, I've been in this kind of situation a few times before," the Doctor said.  A few hundred times, he thought to himself.  "But I can't say I've ever been held hostage by floating in the air.  Still, not to worry.  I'll figure something out."

Sally began to giggle quietly.  The Doctor gave her a disapproving look.  "Sally, there is nothing to laugh about."

"I know, Doctor, I know," Sally did her best to suppress her smile, "but look at us.  We're flying, just like in the story book Peter Pan.  They sprinkled us with fairy dust and now we can fly.  If only we didn't have these awful ropes on us, we could fly away.  Perhaps to Never Land."  Sally lifted her arms into the air, like she was trying to fly away.  She giggled again.

The Doctor smiled, in spite of himself.  It really was a brilliant feeling.  "You're right, Sally.  This really is amazing."

The Poikyo in the cave were distracted from their various activities by their two prisoners laughing in the corner.  Upon realizing they were having too much fun, the Doctor and Sally quieted down and began thinking through their situation.

"I can't think of one way to get out of here," Sally said looking around.  "Well, that's not true.  I can think of many ways to get out, but not one good way.  We're at the back of a cave that is filled with our captors.  There is only one way out of this place and we have to crawl through that."

The Doctor nodded, "Yep," he said.  They floated in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts.  The Doctor absent-mindedly rubbed his arm.  It was several moments before he realized why his he was rubbing at his arm.  The small stab wound from the Poikyo's spear was aching.  He looked over at Sally.  He saw the dried blood on the sleeve of her dress.  "Is your arm alright?"

Sally looked down at her arm.  "Yeah, it's fine.  Just an unpleasant poke."  She rubbed at the small wound.  "Doctor, these two societies, the fairies and the Poikyo, are ruled by queens."

"Yes," he said, "They are a female dominated society."

"Do they have kings?"  Sally asked.

The Doctor shook his head, "No, the queens have mates, but they are not kings."

"I'm surprised they have spoken more to you and not to me," Sally said thoughtfully. "In such a society, I would have thought they would have spoken to me more.  I'm not complaining, I wouldn't know what to say, but I'm still surprised."

"Frankly, so am I."  The Doctor looked around at the Poikyo.  There were more of them than before.  They continued to float in silence.  Time slowly passed.  The Doctor's time sense told him they had been floating there for three hours.  It would be twilight outside. 

Sally started nodding off, but they quickly learned that as soon as she fell asleep, she lost her ability to float and would fall to the ground.  Twice the Doctor had grabbed her after she nodded off and dropped from the ceiling.  There was no way of knowing how long they would be there and no way to get down to the floor aside from falling asleep.  Sally was tired.  The Doctor suggested that she climb onto his back and lay her back on his.  He acted as a floating bed for her.  They both felt quite silly and Sally giggled again at the absurdness of the situation, but she fell asleep fairly quickly.  The Doctor felt the moment she slipped into sleep as the weight of her body became heavy on his.  He floated as carefully as he could, trying hard not to wake her.  She slept for only about half an hour, but it was enough for her, for now.

"Thanks Doctor." Sally yawned.  She had learned after many late study nights at university and many more late nights working on her research at the institute, that a short cat nap was sometimes all she needed to keep going for a long time.  She started to shiver.  The cave was getting cold in the damp night air.

"Cold?" the Doctor asked her.

"A bit, yes."

The Doctor removed his jacket and placed it on Sally's shoulders.

"Thank you," she said.

The Doctor had been watching the activity in the cave.  The movement of the Poikyo had been increasing for the last hour.  They seemed to be anxious.  He also noticed that he and Sally had been slowly dropping in elevation from the ceiling.  He assumed the fairy dust was wearing off.  Just so long as it let off gradually and not all of the sudden, causing them to plunge to the rocky floor below.

"Doctor, something's going to happen soon, isn't it?"

"Yes, I believe so.  Listen, Sally," the Doctor turned and looked her in the face.  His expression was earnest.  "If once we get out of here, and you can escape, I want you to get back to the TARDIS.  Stay there and wait for me.  Do you think you can find your way back?"

"Maybe.  Yes, I think so.  I can if I can find the road, but Doctor, it's dark outside."

The Doctor pulled a key out of a pocket and pressed it into Sally's hand.  "Here is a key to the TARDIS.  If we get separated and you can get away, do it.  Go to the TARDIS.  I'll find you there."

"But Doctor, isn't there anything I can do to help?"  Sally asked.  She was feeling anxious.

"No.  I don't know, maybe, but Sally," he sighed, "this isn't what I wanted to happen when I brought you here.  I want you to be safe and the safest place is the TARDIS.  Please Sally, stay safe."

Sally nodded.  "I'll do it Doctor, but I don't understand.  Why are you so concerned about me?  Why does it matter so much to you that I'm safe that you're willing to risk your life to save mine?"

The Doctor sighed.  He took Sally's hands into his own.  "Sally, remember when I said that I met you, eight months into your future?"  Sally nodded.  "I saw you die, Sally."

Sally gasped, "You mean I die in eight months?"  Sally started to shake.  If she could have sat down, she would.  As it was, she kept floating and shaking.

"No, Sally!  Listen to me, this is hard to explain and harder to understand if you've never done time traveling before.  I met you in an alternate reality.  In that version of reality, you died, but my friend Molly and I were able to change the course of events.  That reality ceased to exist.  It is gone and you will not be killed in eight months by the blaster of a Dalek."

"A what?  Wait Doctor, if reality changed, why do you remember it?"  Sally was curious despite finding out that he had seen her die.

"I remember it because I was a part of the events that changed it all.  You will not die next year, but for me, the last time I saw you, you died.  I've got that memory and it haunts me.  But, you're alive now and I want you to stay that way.  I couldn't stand it if anything happened to you, again."

Sally felt a tear trickle down her cheek.  Here was the Doctor, a complete stranger, really, and yet he really was concerned for her safety.  His level of emotion surprised her.  She saw hurt in his blue eyes and she knew she didn't want to cause him any more hurt.

Sally chuckled lightly, "You stay safe too.  If anything happens to you, I'm stuck here in 17th century France for the rest of my life.   I might change the course of history by bringing computers to the world 200 years too early."

The Doctor smiled and squeezed her hands.