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http://amythest-n-ice.livejournal.com/24596.html
Link to Prt 22 Bells and Bows
http://amythest-n-ice.livejournal.com/12820.html
Link to Prt 20 Fancy Seeing You Here
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The Doctor looked up with a grin as Jack came into the console room, herding the children along in front of him. They were all dressed in bright colors, Kalen was wearing a spider silk dress that shimmered, and shifted between hues of blue and white depending on how the light hit it, and there was a blue bow in the dark silk of her hair. Bobby looked uncomfortable in a fairly formal blue and silver tunic which matched the one Jack was wearing. The Doctor had gotten close to the colors they were wearing, having changed into his blue pinstripe suit, with a silver shirt underneath.
“Oh, don’t you two look good,” he said, kneeling down and hugging them both.
“Ianto and Terrell are almost ready.” Jack told him.
“Good. I haven’t been to the Adronax carnivals for years.” The Doctor grinned, he looked back at the children again.
“You two remember that you have to be good, and stay close to mama and I or Ianto and Terrell?”
“Yes papa.” They chorused.
The door to the console room opened again and Ianto and Terrell came in. Ianto looked about as happy as Bobby at the green and silver tunic he had been given to wear, but Terrell looked perfectly happy in his, it wasn’t all that different than what he had worn every day before he joined the TARDIS crew.
“Right, everyone keep these in full view at all times.” The Doctor said, picking up some silver bracelets from the console. They were finely engraved with Gallifreyan symbols, and the center of each one bore a ying yang symbol colored not black and white, but matching the blue and green of their clothes.
“What are they for?” Ianto asked, putting his on as instructed.
“They mark us as a family group. It means that if anyone gets separated from the rest of the group, the security should be able to match them up. It also means that you have a right to be in charge of the children, even though you aren’t wearing the same family colors.”
“We could change.” Terrell offered.
“No, the colors you are wearing are appropriate for someone who is a member of the family, but not of the central group. Like uncles. There will probably be other people in the same colors though, so the bracelets mark which family you are a member of. Family is very important to the Adronaxans, it’s a very serious crime here to take a child from another family group, punishable by execution, if proven, so the bracelets are very important.”
“What if they lose theirs?” Ianto asked, nodding to where Jack was fastening bracelets to the children.
“They can’t, theirs are locked so that only Jack or I can get them off.”
“OK, good. Anything else we need to worry about?” Ianto asked.
“No, the Carnivals are pretty open otherwise. Keep your hands on your wallets, there will more than likely be pickpockets, there usually are where there are crowds.”
“Right.” Ianto checked the pouches the Doctor had given him with local currency in was securely tucked away, and saw Terrell do the same. Jack didn’t bother, any thief that could actually manage to pick his pocket deserved his haul.
“Everyone ready to go then?” The Doctor asked cheerfully, bouncing toward the door.
They all exited the TARDIS, and Ianto’s jaw dropped at the sight that met his eyes. They were half way down an alley that was hung with bright streamers, and at either end, there were loud, boisterous crowds, dressed in myriad colors. Ianto quickly realized what the Doctor had meant, there were several different groups wearing the same, or similar sets of colors even in his line of sight where he stood now.
“Right, this way, I think.” The Doctor pointed, taking off apparently randomly to the left. The others followed with a shrug, they had no preference either way, not even Jack had been here before, so they were totally in the hands of the Time Lord.
Jack and the Doctor picked the children up before they could step out into the bustling crowd in this avenue. Kalen twisted in Jack’s grip, trying to see everything at once as they walked. The Doctor swung Bobby round onto his back so the boy could see where they were going.
The Doctor seemed to have a definite destination in mind as he led them through the crowds thronging the street.
“Where are we going?” Jack finally asked.
“The town square. That’s the best place usually to find out what’s happening around the carnival. There are usually shows of some kind going on all the time,” the Doctor explained as he led them around a large knot of people, and into the square.
The central point of the square seemed to be a fountain, a fairly common arrangement, Ianto had realized on their travels. All around the fountain there were booths set up, crowded with people.
“Why don’t you have a look at the stalls, Jack and I will find you after we fight our way to the information booth.” The Doctor said, nodding to a particularly busy booth at the heart of the square.
“Sure, why not. Do you want us to take the children?” Terrell asked.
“Thanks.” The Doctor said.
Ianto took Kalen settling her securely on his hip so he could keep a tight grip on her, Terrell held Bobby in the same way, not confident enough to have him piggy back in this crowd as the Doctor did. The two parties split now, Jack and the Doctor starting to work their way toward the information booth, and Ianto and Terrell heading off with the children toward the edge of the square.
The first booth had all manner of jewellery on it, and the man running the booth nodded at Kalen.
“Such a pretty little girl.”
“Yes, she is.”
“Some pretty earrings for the pretty girl?” The man suggested, pointing out a tray of sparkling jewels in all the colors of the rainbow.
“Ah, I don’t think so. She doesn’t have pierced ears, and I doubt her parents would appreciate it if I got holes put in her.”
“She is not yours?”
“Their parents are trying to get to the information booth, they didn’t want to take them into that crush.” Ianto noticed a young woman in a severe black uniform paying a lot of attention, her attitude just screaming law enforcement, and Ianto remembered what the Doctor had said about having other people’s children.
“Actually, do you have anything in colors that would match these, that wouldn’t involve damaging either of their children?” Ianto asked, drawing attention to the bracelets without being too obvious about it. He noticed the security officer lose interest and turn her attention to other people. The stall holder examined the bracelet Kalen wore, nodding thoughtfully.
“Beautiful workmanship, I’ve never seen anything quite like it. May I ask, did you get it locally?”
“No, their father made them,” Ianto said, it was actually more likely that the TARDIS had made them, but he wasn’t going to mention that.
“Hmm, a quandary indeed,” the man mused, running his fingers over the bracelet again.
“There is no way I can match the markings, obviously, but the colors, yes, that I think I can do.”
The man turned and started rummaging through boxes at the back of the stall that he hadn’t unpacked yet. There was a wordless exclamation of satisfaction, and he turned back with a grin.
“For the little princess, a pendant. The pattern of the colors is not precisely the same, but there is a marked similarity, and for the young prince, a chain in the same design. They were made as a pair.”
“They’re wonderful. We’ll take them.” Ianto said, pulling out his pouch and carefully counting out the amount the man had asked for. Both of the pieces were wrapped in soft blue velvet, and Ianto tucked them in his pouch for safekeeping.
They looked at several other stalls, but nothing caught their fancy on them, and the children were getting bored when Jack and the Doctor caught them up.
“Hi, did you find anything interesting to do?” Ianto asked as Kalen squirmed to get to Jack.
“There are some acrobats in a few hours in the south square that are suitable for children, but no other child orientated shows today.” The Doctor said.
“So what do we do until then?” Terrell asked.
“Wander round, enjoy the atmosphere, and eat,” the Doctor said with a grin.
They managed to find a café down one of the smaller streets that had a table free outside, and they quickly claimed it, Ianto and Terrell once more staying with the children while Jack and the Doctor fought their way in to order food. They came back with a couple of laden trays, and all settled down to eat. Ianto sighed as he watched Jack picking at his food, his eyes abstracted, but the Doctor didn't say anything about it, despite the concern in his own eyes, so Ianto thought it best to leave him alone.
After lunch, Ianto thought that Jack had gotton over whatever had been bothering him as he laughed with his children, but he realized it was just an act when they were watching the acrobat show. The children were transfixed with the rest of the crowd, but Ianto saw Jack had grown distracted again, his eyes on the acrobats, but clearly not seeing them, the Doctor rubbed a hand over Jack's back lightly, and the introspection was broken as he turned a sweet smile on his mate.
The sun was starting to go down, and there was a chill starting to creep into the air when the Doctor declared that it was time to go back to the TARDIS. Kalen fell asleep with her head on Jack's shoulder as they wended their way throught the thinning crowds, and snuggled in the Doctors arms, Bobby was more than half way there too.
Ianto was coming back from the bathroom when he caught sight of Jack and the Doctor coming out of the childrens room after having tucked them in. Jack pulled the Doctor into a light kiss, then parted from him, walking off down the corridor in the direction of the gardens. The Doctor saw Ianto and smiled faintly at him.
"Is he OK?" Ianto asked.
"Yeah, he just has something on his mind, he'll be alright tomorrow. Good night Ianto."
"Good night," Ianto replied, going into the bedroom he shared with Terrell.
Ianto woke early the next morning, and decided to head to the kitchen to start breakfast, to avoid waking Terrell up. When he got there, Jack was leaning against the counter drinking a cup of coffee.
“Where are you off to?” Ianto asked, noticing the somber black Jack wore, so unlike the bright colors of the previous day.
“No where much,” Jack said, putting his mug in the sink and heading for the door.
“Jack?”
“Don’t worry about it Ianto, if the Doctor gets up before I get back, just tell him that I made my decision, and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“You’re sure nothings wrong?”
“Positive, this is just something that needs to be taken care of.”
Jack stood with a crowd of other people wearing black in the mist shrouded Governor’s Square, waiting for the sun to come up. As the first fingers of gold started to creep over the horizon, there was a thud from the other side of the square. As one, the group turned, their eyes fixed on a bunch of shackled prisoners. The prisoners jeered at the silent watchers, and Jack felt his lip curl into a snarl as the man at the front caught sight of him. The man tried to stop walking, but the guards pushed him on. Jack let the image of a little boy’s mother, lying dead on the floor of a pirates cabin come into his mind as the first of the pirates was lead up onto the gallows. The sun had risen over the buildings, by the time the last of the pirates, the Captain, was pulled up onto the gallows. He tried to struggle, to break away as the guards pulled him to the center of the platform and looped the noose around his neck. Jack held the pirate’s eyes as the release was pulled and the platform dropped out from beneath the criminals feet.
When Jack got back to the TARDIS, the Doctor was waiting for him in the console room, leaning on the railing.
“You went and watched then?”
“Yes. It was them.”
“So William’s mother is avenged, and they won’t be taking anymore slaves. Good. Are you OK?”
“Yeah. I know it seems harsh, but I’m glad they were caught on a world with the death penalty. The number of people they sold into slavery, or killed, they got what they deserved,” Jack said, moving over to stand close to his lover. The Doctor wrapped him in a tight embrace, kissing him gently.
“Who got what they deserved?” Ianto asked from the doorway, making them both jump, they hadn’t heard the door open.
“The pirates, from a few months ago. They tried it again here, and were caught. They had a few children in their haul, and the punishment for taking other people’s children on this world is…”
“Death, I remember. Is this why we came here, so you could see them executed?”
“No, Ianto, we came to enjoy the carnivals. We knew nothing about the executions until yesterday, when we went to the information booth.” Jack promised him.
“Fair enough.” Ianto shrugged. He turned to leave, then turned back again before he got through the door.
“The children are drawing pictures of the acrobats for you. They want to see them again today.”
“That can be arranged. I picked up the program for the rest of the week when we were at the information booth yesterday.” The Doctor grinned, going to rummage through the pockets of his trench coat.
“Ah ha, see. They’re in the
Jack relaxed, letting the familiar buzz of happiness, and the joy of the TARDIS sooth him, content that one group of dangerous criminals would cause no more pain.
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One small critisism, it rather jumped from the carnival to the next morning. Perhaps it's worth ending the day, and having Jack a little distracted before getting to the following morning?
Other than that it's fab as always
From:
no subject
Try it now, it doesn't jump quite so abruptly anymore, and thanks for letting me know where it needed a little polish. Next chapter should be after I update the other two.
From:
no subject
They had the a few children in their haul,
one too many words?
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From:
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and do like that there was some small justice in the case of the space pirates - they could never truly pay enough for their many crimes but at least there is a bit of closure for Jack and the others....
and I do like the TARDIS being a part of Jack and the family....
thanks for sharing this
From:
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The pirates have finally paid for their evil deeds, but it's just a shame they can never really tell little William that his mothers murderer has paid the penalty.
The TARDIS strikes me as being kind of like a mother in law, but actually liking who her charge has married, lol, and adoring her 'grandchildren'