Oncoming Storms - Prompt 132.3 - Being sold as a sex slave
A/N: No warnings despite the prompt! This was also supposed to be a silly prompt, but starts off a bit more serious than intended.
She let out a soft groan as she came to and quickly realised, from the ache in her limbs, her arms secured behind her back, that she'd been held in that singular hog-tied position for quite a while. After struggling against her bonds for a long while, her shouts of protestation and threats echoing around the barred cell and dank corridor out beyond the bars, she slumped against the wall. The bricks were nice and cool on her cheek, the sensation a welcome respite from the painful tingling her hands were experiencing now that they were waking up as well.
A squealing creak of a door and the rattling, clinking sounds of chains soon filled the air. Her eyes widened and she leant forward from her position on the ground. They'd heard her!
"That's what I thought!" she shouted, ignoring the fact that her voice was slightly hoarse now from doing exactly what she was doing now. "Who says a little yelling never got you anywhere? Right here, chain man! Right over here!" Once she'd gotten out, she'd find the Doctor. It would figure that'd she be separated from him. Then again, for all she knew, he was in another part of the prison thing they were in! Or--she thought a second later, her heart sinking--he was knocked out cold in the neighbouring cell.
Before she could entertain any more horrible thoughts about what might have been done to her mate, the chain clanged against the bars of her own cell, making her jump. "Belt up, will you?!" the guard growled, sounding quite disgruntled, and stared in at her from the other side of the bars, or at least she imagined he was. It was so damn dark in there--and lord, it smelled terrible--she couldn't properly make out the guard's face. Just the general shape and such.
"Let me out and I just might. Or I'll continue screaming and give you such a headache, you'll regret not letting me free sooner!" she responded, her teeth gritted. Her anger was flaring again, and that little voice in her head--which had oddly taken on the voice of the Doctor's ever since she began travelling with him--was telling her she really shouldn't do that. Not when she couldn't remember exactly what happened to land her in that position in the first place.
But the guard didn't respond, not directly to her, anyway. He was grumbling something very low under his breath while his thick fingers fiddled with something around his waist. It took her moment to notice the large keyring in his hand until he'd opened the door to her cell. A victorious little smirk graced her lips.
"Good thing you chose that, sunshine" she said, letting every bit of smugness she could muster ooze into her voice. "My voice has been known to penetrate--"
Much to her surprise, the guard began to laugh and slap his thigh. "Might just fetch a decent price if you talk like that!" he said, his voice booming.
"'Price'?" she repeated incredulously. "What the hell are you on about?!" Warily, she watched his figure move around toward her back, the chains trailing along the ground. Then she felt his hot hands grip her wrist to hold her still, the chains jingling loudly until she realised he was attaching them to her wrists. "Oi! You're not going to drag me out of here, are--?!" His rough hand suddenly grabbed her chin, squeezing her jaw just tight enough for her to feel even more uncomfortable than she already was.
"You will be silent," he hissed, his hot breath in her ear. It made her want to squirm, or better yet, spit in his face--and she might have done had she not been in his grasp. "One more outburst like that and I'll really give you a reason to scream. Do you understand?"
She nodded as best she could and a second later, he released her jaw and grabbed her arm, dragging her up to her feet. That she didn't protest about, not while she was swivelling her jaw around and making sure he hadn't done any lasting damage. No, had she been asked to get up on her own, she might not have been able to. Her poor legs were still asleep and felt quite heavy, and remained so as she was shoved out into the corridor. She stumbled forward, but much to her surprise, she wasn't sent head-first into the wall. The guard had taken hold of her arm once more and was guiding her to the nearby door at the end of the corridor, the chains clinking against each other with every step.
Standing next to the man, she noticed that the smell had gotten far worse than it had been before. Any other time, she might have made a smart remark, asking whether soap had been invented yet or whether he even knew what a bar of soap might look like. Of course, now that she was thinking about it, she could make several comparisons to some rather unsavoury creatures she'd met during her travels and note that he was, by far, the smelliest of them all. But the Doctor had invaded her thoughts again. That man had an even bigger problem of keeping quiet in the face of such odorous opposition--or any opposition for that matter, never mind the malodorous-ness of the situation--and the thought of just how many things he'd have to say about the guard put a small smile on her face.
Her legs soon progressed to that painful pins and needles stage which she weathered with gritted teeth. While she was occupied with that, however, she found herself being led out into an open-air courtyard. There, a few other women were waiting, lounging around and plaiting each other's hair, giggling to each other. She sort of stood and stared for a moment, wondering just what the hell she'd gotten herself into now before she received a fierce tug on her arm. Several torches had been lit, illuminating the courtyard. Had she not been in extreme duress, she might have appreciated the beauty of the courtyard with its flowering trees and little fruit bushes. She even noticed a little stream running through as she passed over a footbridge to reach the women and their piles of silky fabrics and cushions--and lord knew what else.
"Right, you lot, here's another one. You know what to do," he grunted, but with far less gruffness than he had when speaking to her.
The women seemed to have been expecting her since none of them reacted to a stranger in chains and bonds being dragged along by the likes of him. Now that she could see again, she almost wished she was back in the dark corridor. The guard looked as though he'd been dropped on his face a few too many times.
"Remember what I said to you. Don't even think of escaping..." the guard hissed as he released her bonds. She could barely get a word out before she was shoved into the waiting arms of the women, their questions and wandering hands pawing at her. By the time she was able to even turn partway around, the guard had gone with a slam of the door they'd come through.
The women quickly corralled her into the centre of the courtyard, one of them explaining they had to prepare her for her début. She tried to ask what début that could possibly be, but from the different soaps and perfumes she spotted--as well as the fancy tub filled with steaming water--she sort of began to put the pieces together. "You're...going to bathe and clothe me?! I'm not a toddler, I can do that myself, you know," she said, her arms firmly folded under her breasts.
"It's an important part of the ceremony," another one of the women said--the one, conveniently enough, trying to tug her shirt up. "Please, we're running late as it is. If we don't do this..."
For a brief moment, she thought she caught a look of fear in that woman's eyes and she glanced around, noting the other women bore the same look. And here she thought they were just incredibly cheeky and perverted! But the look was gone as quickly as it had come, replaced with placid expressions all around.
"Erm," she began, wondering what that had been all about. "All right, you can--but no funny business or so help me!"
But the women cheered merrily and quickly made short work of her clothing, making her wonder if they'd even heard her veiled threat. She tried to think of what the ceremony could be. If it was a purification one, well, they were a bit late for that and would have their hands quite full. Of course, if it was the sacrificial kind where they threw a virgin into some fiery pit, well, they were barking up the wrong tree. Perhaps there was an important person in the ceremony and her early 21st century clothes just wouldn't pass as fancy dress, plus she'd been sweating in that prison cell and she had no idea how long she'd been there.
Whatever it was, the women wouldn't say, instead merrily resuming their inane chatter from before. Local gossip, it seemed, so she tried to follow the conversation, piping up with questions every now and then--which they ignored as they bathed and groomed her, and dressed her in a rather comfortable and light green silk dress with a beautiful brocade belt wrapped around her waist.
She glanced down at herself while the women slipped on beautiful gold bracelets and bejewelled rings onto her limbs. An eyebrow shot up when she saw quite a bit of herself staring right back at her. She thought it felt a bit breezy. "Not be a prude or anything, but isn't this a bit much for a ceremony? Could get quite..." she trailed off. She was going to say 'distracting', but she wasn't about to give herself that much credit.
The women giggled, practically as one. "That's the least of your troubles," one of them said from behind her.
"No trouble," the others chimed in, their hands smoothing out the fabric of the dress and primping the curls they'd done her hair up in.
"Will you stop that?!" she exclaimed. She swatted at their hands and tried to get away from them, and she did, pushing roughly past the closest one, and made a break for what she hoped was the right door. But she skittered to a stop, the beaded flats she wore now giving her no traction whatsoever on the marble floor, and barrelled straight into the chest of her favourite guard.
"My, you're an eager one. Just in time," he said, grinning, his eyes glinting menacingly.
"In time for what, this ceremony thing? What is--oi, get your hands off me!" she protested, the women grabbing her arms and holding them forward long enough for the guard to clamp manacles around her wrists.
Again, the guard ignored her question and tugged the chained manacles, the metal bruising her wrists. She shuffled quickly to keep up with him, rubbing at her wrists. She was lucky her earlier attempt at escaping them hadn't done too much damage. As they turned down a different corridor, she thought she heard the sounds of voices echoing with growing strength as they neared the source of the noise. It sounded as though there were dozens of people just talking and laughing loudly--but soon they fell silent, the voice of one man talking now, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. Only the suspicious sound of something banging a couple times like a gavel.
"There you are!" someone said, once they'd come into the light of the torches set about that part of the corridor. "Is that the last one?"
"Yeah, watch out for her, though. Says she can shout very loudly!" the guard laughed.
"Ohhh, some of them might like the sound of that," the other man said, sounding rather pleased. "I'd ask for a demonstration, but unfortunately, no testing out the goods before the client has had the first go."
"The goods?!" she exclaimed, no longer able to contain herself. "Listen buster, I'm not 'goods', I'm a person. I've got a name! I'm Donna Noble and once I'm free, I'm going to kick each and every one of your--mrf!" A hand clamped itself over her mouth, and if she could, she would've tried biting it if she could manoeuvre her mouth into the right position.
"What'd I tell you?" the guard grunted with a beleaguered sigh. He took out what she suspected was a dirty rag and wound it around her head, tying it off snugly.
"Yes, of course, you were right," the other man said, then added under his breath, "Always are." Then he gave her chains a bit of a tug. "In you get!" he said, dragging her into the room after him. "You're the last one in this 'ceremony' of ours."
A hush fell over the crowd once more when she entered, the man leading her up a wooden platform built on that side of the room where a podium and another set of guards stood. The man turned the chains over to the guards before taking up the position behind the podium.
"And here at last, gentlemen and ladies, is our newest addition--and what a fine, fiery gem she is, isn't she? Opening bidding begins at twenty-five--do I hear twenty-five...?" The man continued to rattle off numbers, occasionally stopping to talk about her hair, fine assets, and pale skin.
She couldn't believe what was happening. Never in her life did she think she'd be in an auction. Sure, she'd gone to a few bachelor ones with her mates, but those never led to much other than that one one-night-stand and a massive hangover. But as she stood there, her eyes having no choice but to look around the room she was in, she noticed the state of undress of some of the patrons there before they disappeared off into the darkened corridors at the other end of the room.
What...the hell, she thought. Was she being sold off as some--?! No, she wasn't going to think that. Where the hell was the Doctor?! When she found him, ohhh, the words she'd have for him. This wasn't the sort of pleasure planet she'd wanted to go to!
With that thought, she remembered what happened. They'd barely been there for five minutes after stepping out of the TARDIS before the alarms started going off. They'd somehow found their way into a restricted area, which hadn't been much of a surprise, but there had been alarms. Honest to goodness alarms with flashing red lights--and she saw no sign of such technology now. Just fire on a stick and metal manacles. Even her dress was held up with a few pins at her shoulders, reminding her of the dress she'd received in Pompeii.
But while she was mulling all that over, she'd missed the rest of the auction, her attention returning to it when the auctioneer yelled, "Sold! To the gentleman in the back with the strange hair and suit."
Her eyes widened when she caught sight of him, a cheeky smile on his face. "You!" she tried to say, but even that was difficult to manage with the gag in her mouth. The two guards frogmarched her down the platform, the crowd of people parting until they reached the Doctor.
"Hello!" he said brightly--too brightly, if anyone had asked her. "About time I found yo--erm, I mean, glad I came down here when I did! I was having a ginger craving--no. Fetish? Nah, that doesn't sound right either... Though, well, in this case, the shoe sort of fits..."
She growled his name, but he showed no sign of having heard it.
"Ah, good sir," said the auctioneer as he came up from behind her, the keys jingling in his hand. "You've made a wonderful selection. I heard this one can be quite loud."
"Ohhh, I know," the Doctor replied, pulling a face. "I mean," he quickly added, deliberately avoiding her piercing glare, "just look at her! Looks like she's got quite the gob!"
"And that she does. Now, for that payment...?"
"It's already in your account," he said, patting the auctioneer on the shoulder. "Might even include a bit extra for yourself depending on my level of satisfaction with my purchase."
She jerked fiercely against the firm hold of the two guards, her eyes burning with something nearing murderous contempt, but still the Doctor was avoiding looking at her.
"Sir is too kind! Now, here are the keys and a comment card so you can give us a little feedback about your experience with Exquisite Escort Services, Inc. The map just outside this room will show you the available types of rooms, but do be sure to knock--unless you wish to enter in a joint contract with another party. We'll work out the details after the fact. Until then, enjoy your acquisition, Mister...?"
"Smith. John Smith," the Doctor said, reaching out a hand to shake the auctioneer's. "And oh, I will do." His eyes flickered over to hers, and she was certain he'd winked at her, but she was far too furious to truly notice.
"Yes, of course you are," the auctioneer replied, sounding a bit dubious about the name. Really, she thought he ought to at least use something more convincing. "Let's leave the happy couple alone," he said to her guards, then glanced over his shoulder. "Oh, it'll be extra for public exhibition, so you know."
"Ah yes, thank you for that, erm, reminder," the Doctor said, taking hold of the chains the guards offered him. He smiled what she thought might have been his attempt of being reassuring, but the effect was completely ruined when he continued with, "Come along, my fine sla--I mean, courtesan! I mean, oh, you know what I mean."
Once they were out of earshot, he reached up and removed the gag from her mouth. "I had one hell of a--" he began in a hushed voice.
"You had a hell of a time?! Is that it? Ohhh, spaceman, when we get out of here, I am going to--hold on, how did you find me?" she suddenly asked.
The Doctor looked away again, the hand holding the keys rubbing the back of his neck. "Well...I saw you, earlier," he said very casually.
"Saw me?" she asked, confused. "How could you have seen me? I was..." But she trailed off, the gears in her mind slowly clicking into place, until she gasped, backing away from him, and realising exactly what he'd meant. "You saw me?" she asked, waving her manacled hands up and down. "You just stood there and watched that happen?!"
He looked quite sheepish, not meeting her eyes again. "I don't suppose saying that you looked like you weren't in harm's way will help, will it?" he asked innocently.
"No. No, it won't, spaceman," she said flatly. "I can't believe you! I just can't! Of all the--"
"Sorry Donna, hold that thought," he hissed suddenly, his eyes catching sight of something down the corridor, and before she could respond, he'd pulled her in for a rough kiss, dragged her with him into a nearby--and thankfully, empty--room, and closed the doors. "That Mr Hedica was coming back this way," he explained while she just gaped at him, "And I reckon he was about to come by and take that dress back. Looks lovely, by the way." He was working to unlock the manacles from around her wrists, but tossed the keys over his shoulder when they wouldn't work, and resorted to the sonic screwdriver. "I wouldn't put it past this place to have a dress fee, or a jewellery fee or some other sort of fee, but considering what I'd paid, it wouldn't be too much to give them a bit more for you to keep your clothes on."
She rubbed her wrists once they were free. "How much did you pay?"
"In the end?" He sucked in a breath, seeming to think about it while he tucked his screwdriver away. "Forty-seven hundred tolumos."
"And how much is that when it's at home?" she asked, feeling rather proud she'd drawn in that much. Sounded like a decent sum to her.
"Ohhh, about...ten quid. I think. Depends on the conversion rates and how well the pound is do--."
The sound of her slap echoed throughout the room. "Ten quid?!" she asked incredulously. "You only paid ten flipping quid for me?!"
"Ten quid can buy you a house here!"
"Oh, so I'm a house now, am I?" she asked, pursing her lips together, hands propped on her hips.
The Doctor looked exasperated. "No, but, well, it'd be a--"
"If you're even going to say it's 'a nice house', you'd better shut your mouth right now, sunshine!" she interrupted, feeling rather hurt about the whole thing.
He muttered something under his breath, a hand rubbing at his poor, red cheek. "No, it'd be a mansion, but!" he exclaimed, holding his hands up. "We don't have time to talk about this. We have to get out of here before they turn the cameras on and realise we're not otherwise engaged with each other."
"Well good!" she exclaimed. "I wouldn't want to be. Not with you, you skinny bean pole of a man. You'd probably bruise me with your hip bones."
"Yeah, well, I wouldn't want to either!" he countered, sniffing and looking rather offended. Though she wondered if that was more from the jab at his skinniness more than anything.
A heavy, stubborn silence fell between them, neither of them wanting to speak lest they stick their feet in it even more than they already had done.
"Right, well," the Doctor said finally, reaching for her hand. Reluctantly, she took it. "I think I know a way out of here."
"I'd hope you do. You owe me a proper leisure planet after this, Doctor! With none of this high-end brothel nonsense!"
He smiled, squeezing her hand slightly. "Oh, and I know just the place. You'll like it! Begins with an M and has sapphire waterfalls and land made of diamonds."
"Sounds expensive," she replied, her interest piqued. "You sure you can pay for it?"
"Oh, didn't I tell you?" he asked playfully. "I've still got ten quid left."
Muse: Donna Noble
Word count: 3759
She let out a soft groan as she came to and quickly realised, from the ache in her limbs, her arms secured behind her back, that she'd been held in that singular hog-tied position for quite a while. After struggling against her bonds for a long while, her shouts of protestation and threats echoing around the barred cell and dank corridor out beyond the bars, she slumped against the wall. The bricks were nice and cool on her cheek, the sensation a welcome respite from the painful tingling her hands were experiencing now that they were waking up as well.
A squealing creak of a door and the rattling, clinking sounds of chains soon filled the air. Her eyes widened and she leant forward from her position on the ground. They'd heard her!
"That's what I thought!" she shouted, ignoring the fact that her voice was slightly hoarse now from doing exactly what she was doing now. "Who says a little yelling never got you anywhere? Right here, chain man! Right over here!" Once she'd gotten out, she'd find the Doctor. It would figure that'd she be separated from him. Then again, for all she knew, he was in another part of the prison thing they were in! Or--she thought a second later, her heart sinking--he was knocked out cold in the neighbouring cell.
Before she could entertain any more horrible thoughts about what might have been done to her mate, the chain clanged against the bars of her own cell, making her jump. "Belt up, will you?!" the guard growled, sounding quite disgruntled, and stared in at her from the other side of the bars, or at least she imagined he was. It was so damn dark in there--and lord, it smelled terrible--she couldn't properly make out the guard's face. Just the general shape and such.
"Let me out and I just might. Or I'll continue screaming and give you such a headache, you'll regret not letting me free sooner!" she responded, her teeth gritted. Her anger was flaring again, and that little voice in her head--which had oddly taken on the voice of the Doctor's ever since she began travelling with him--was telling her she really shouldn't do that. Not when she couldn't remember exactly what happened to land her in that position in the first place.
But the guard didn't respond, not directly to her, anyway. He was grumbling something very low under his breath while his thick fingers fiddled with something around his waist. It took her moment to notice the large keyring in his hand until he'd opened the door to her cell. A victorious little smirk graced her lips.
"Good thing you chose that, sunshine" she said, letting every bit of smugness she could muster ooze into her voice. "My voice has been known to penetrate--"
Much to her surprise, the guard began to laugh and slap his thigh. "Might just fetch a decent price if you talk like that!" he said, his voice booming.
"'Price'?" she repeated incredulously. "What the hell are you on about?!" Warily, she watched his figure move around toward her back, the chains trailing along the ground. Then she felt his hot hands grip her wrist to hold her still, the chains jingling loudly until she realised he was attaching them to her wrists. "Oi! You're not going to drag me out of here, are--?!" His rough hand suddenly grabbed her chin, squeezing her jaw just tight enough for her to feel even more uncomfortable than she already was.
"You will be silent," he hissed, his hot breath in her ear. It made her want to squirm, or better yet, spit in his face--and she might have done had she not been in his grasp. "One more outburst like that and I'll really give you a reason to scream. Do you understand?"
She nodded as best she could and a second later, he released her jaw and grabbed her arm, dragging her up to her feet. That she didn't protest about, not while she was swivelling her jaw around and making sure he hadn't done any lasting damage. No, had she been asked to get up on her own, she might not have been able to. Her poor legs were still asleep and felt quite heavy, and remained so as she was shoved out into the corridor. She stumbled forward, but much to her surprise, she wasn't sent head-first into the wall. The guard had taken hold of her arm once more and was guiding her to the nearby door at the end of the corridor, the chains clinking against each other with every step.
Standing next to the man, she noticed that the smell had gotten far worse than it had been before. Any other time, she might have made a smart remark, asking whether soap had been invented yet or whether he even knew what a bar of soap might look like. Of course, now that she was thinking about it, she could make several comparisons to some rather unsavoury creatures she'd met during her travels and note that he was, by far, the smelliest of them all. But the Doctor had invaded her thoughts again. That man had an even bigger problem of keeping quiet in the face of such odorous opposition--or any opposition for that matter, never mind the malodorous-ness of the situation--and the thought of just how many things he'd have to say about the guard put a small smile on her face.
Her legs soon progressed to that painful pins and needles stage which she weathered with gritted teeth. While she was occupied with that, however, she found herself being led out into an open-air courtyard. There, a few other women were waiting, lounging around and plaiting each other's hair, giggling to each other. She sort of stood and stared for a moment, wondering just what the hell she'd gotten herself into now before she received a fierce tug on her arm. Several torches had been lit, illuminating the courtyard. Had she not been in extreme duress, she might have appreciated the beauty of the courtyard with its flowering trees and little fruit bushes. She even noticed a little stream running through as she passed over a footbridge to reach the women and their piles of silky fabrics and cushions--and lord knew what else.
"Right, you lot, here's another one. You know what to do," he grunted, but with far less gruffness than he had when speaking to her.
The women seemed to have been expecting her since none of them reacted to a stranger in chains and bonds being dragged along by the likes of him. Now that she could see again, she almost wished she was back in the dark corridor. The guard looked as though he'd been dropped on his face a few too many times.
"Remember what I said to you. Don't even think of escaping..." the guard hissed as he released her bonds. She could barely get a word out before she was shoved into the waiting arms of the women, their questions and wandering hands pawing at her. By the time she was able to even turn partway around, the guard had gone with a slam of the door they'd come through.
The women quickly corralled her into the centre of the courtyard, one of them explaining they had to prepare her for her début. She tried to ask what début that could possibly be, but from the different soaps and perfumes she spotted--as well as the fancy tub filled with steaming water--she sort of began to put the pieces together. "You're...going to bathe and clothe me?! I'm not a toddler, I can do that myself, you know," she said, her arms firmly folded under her breasts.
"It's an important part of the ceremony," another one of the women said--the one, conveniently enough, trying to tug her shirt up. "Please, we're running late as it is. If we don't do this..."
For a brief moment, she thought she caught a look of fear in that woman's eyes and she glanced around, noting the other women bore the same look. And here she thought they were just incredibly cheeky and perverted! But the look was gone as quickly as it had come, replaced with placid expressions all around.
"Erm," she began, wondering what that had been all about. "All right, you can--but no funny business or so help me!"
But the women cheered merrily and quickly made short work of her clothing, making her wonder if they'd even heard her veiled threat. She tried to think of what the ceremony could be. If it was a purification one, well, they were a bit late for that and would have their hands quite full. Of course, if it was the sacrificial kind where they threw a virgin into some fiery pit, well, they were barking up the wrong tree. Perhaps there was an important person in the ceremony and her early 21st century clothes just wouldn't pass as fancy dress, plus she'd been sweating in that prison cell and she had no idea how long she'd been there.
Whatever it was, the women wouldn't say, instead merrily resuming their inane chatter from before. Local gossip, it seemed, so she tried to follow the conversation, piping up with questions every now and then--which they ignored as they bathed and groomed her, and dressed her in a rather comfortable and light green silk dress with a beautiful brocade belt wrapped around her waist.
She glanced down at herself while the women slipped on beautiful gold bracelets and bejewelled rings onto her limbs. An eyebrow shot up when she saw quite a bit of herself staring right back at her. She thought it felt a bit breezy. "Not be a prude or anything, but isn't this a bit much for a ceremony? Could get quite..." she trailed off. She was going to say 'distracting', but she wasn't about to give herself that much credit.
The women giggled, practically as one. "That's the least of your troubles," one of them said from behind her.
"No trouble," the others chimed in, their hands smoothing out the fabric of the dress and primping the curls they'd done her hair up in.
"Will you stop that?!" she exclaimed. She swatted at their hands and tried to get away from them, and she did, pushing roughly past the closest one, and made a break for what she hoped was the right door. But she skittered to a stop, the beaded flats she wore now giving her no traction whatsoever on the marble floor, and barrelled straight into the chest of her favourite guard.
"My, you're an eager one. Just in time," he said, grinning, his eyes glinting menacingly.
"In time for what, this ceremony thing? What is--oi, get your hands off me!" she protested, the women grabbing her arms and holding them forward long enough for the guard to clamp manacles around her wrists.
Again, the guard ignored her question and tugged the chained manacles, the metal bruising her wrists. She shuffled quickly to keep up with him, rubbing at her wrists. She was lucky her earlier attempt at escaping them hadn't done too much damage. As they turned down a different corridor, she thought she heard the sounds of voices echoing with growing strength as they neared the source of the noise. It sounded as though there were dozens of people just talking and laughing loudly--but soon they fell silent, the voice of one man talking now, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. Only the suspicious sound of something banging a couple times like a gavel.
"There you are!" someone said, once they'd come into the light of the torches set about that part of the corridor. "Is that the last one?"
"Yeah, watch out for her, though. Says she can shout very loudly!" the guard laughed.
"Ohhh, some of them might like the sound of that," the other man said, sounding rather pleased. "I'd ask for a demonstration, but unfortunately, no testing out the goods before the client has had the first go."
"The goods?!" she exclaimed, no longer able to contain herself. "Listen buster, I'm not 'goods', I'm a person. I've got a name! I'm Donna Noble and once I'm free, I'm going to kick each and every one of your--mrf!" A hand clamped itself over her mouth, and if she could, she would've tried biting it if she could manoeuvre her mouth into the right position.
"What'd I tell you?" the guard grunted with a beleaguered sigh. He took out what she suspected was a dirty rag and wound it around her head, tying it off snugly.
"Yes, of course, you were right," the other man said, then added under his breath, "Always are." Then he gave her chains a bit of a tug. "In you get!" he said, dragging her into the room after him. "You're the last one in this 'ceremony' of ours."
A hush fell over the crowd once more when she entered, the man leading her up a wooden platform built on that side of the room where a podium and another set of guards stood. The man turned the chains over to the guards before taking up the position behind the podium.
"And here at last, gentlemen and ladies, is our newest addition--and what a fine, fiery gem she is, isn't she? Opening bidding begins at twenty-five--do I hear twenty-five...?" The man continued to rattle off numbers, occasionally stopping to talk about her hair, fine assets, and pale skin.
She couldn't believe what was happening. Never in her life did she think she'd be in an auction. Sure, she'd gone to a few bachelor ones with her mates, but those never led to much other than that one one-night-stand and a massive hangover. But as she stood there, her eyes having no choice but to look around the room she was in, she noticed the state of undress of some of the patrons there before they disappeared off into the darkened corridors at the other end of the room.
What...the hell, she thought. Was she being sold off as some--?! No, she wasn't going to think that. Where the hell was the Doctor?! When she found him, ohhh, the words she'd have for him. This wasn't the sort of pleasure planet she'd wanted to go to!
With that thought, she remembered what happened. They'd barely been there for five minutes after stepping out of the TARDIS before the alarms started going off. They'd somehow found their way into a restricted area, which hadn't been much of a surprise, but there had been alarms. Honest to goodness alarms with flashing red lights--and she saw no sign of such technology now. Just fire on a stick and metal manacles. Even her dress was held up with a few pins at her shoulders, reminding her of the dress she'd received in Pompeii.
But while she was mulling all that over, she'd missed the rest of the auction, her attention returning to it when the auctioneer yelled, "Sold! To the gentleman in the back with the strange hair and suit."
Her eyes widened when she caught sight of him, a cheeky smile on his face. "You!" she tried to say, but even that was difficult to manage with the gag in her mouth. The two guards frogmarched her down the platform, the crowd of people parting until they reached the Doctor.
"Hello!" he said brightly--too brightly, if anyone had asked her. "About time I found yo--erm, I mean, glad I came down here when I did! I was having a ginger craving--no. Fetish? Nah, that doesn't sound right either... Though, well, in this case, the shoe sort of fits..."
She growled his name, but he showed no sign of having heard it.
"Ah, good sir," said the auctioneer as he came up from behind her, the keys jingling in his hand. "You've made a wonderful selection. I heard this one can be quite loud."
"Ohhh, I know," the Doctor replied, pulling a face. "I mean," he quickly added, deliberately avoiding her piercing glare, "just look at her! Looks like she's got quite the gob!"
"And that she does. Now, for that payment...?"
"It's already in your account," he said, patting the auctioneer on the shoulder. "Might even include a bit extra for yourself depending on my level of satisfaction with my purchase."
She jerked fiercely against the firm hold of the two guards, her eyes burning with something nearing murderous contempt, but still the Doctor was avoiding looking at her.
"Sir is too kind! Now, here are the keys and a comment card so you can give us a little feedback about your experience with Exquisite Escort Services, Inc. The map just outside this room will show you the available types of rooms, but do be sure to knock--unless you wish to enter in a joint contract with another party. We'll work out the details after the fact. Until then, enjoy your acquisition, Mister...?"
"Smith. John Smith," the Doctor said, reaching out a hand to shake the auctioneer's. "And oh, I will do." His eyes flickered over to hers, and she was certain he'd winked at her, but she was far too furious to truly notice.
"Yes, of course you are," the auctioneer replied, sounding a bit dubious about the name. Really, she thought he ought to at least use something more convincing. "Let's leave the happy couple alone," he said to her guards, then glanced over his shoulder. "Oh, it'll be extra for public exhibition, so you know."
"Ah yes, thank you for that, erm, reminder," the Doctor said, taking hold of the chains the guards offered him. He smiled what she thought might have been his attempt of being reassuring, but the effect was completely ruined when he continued with, "Come along, my fine sla--I mean, courtesan! I mean, oh, you know what I mean."
Once they were out of earshot, he reached up and removed the gag from her mouth. "I had one hell of a--" he began in a hushed voice.
"You had a hell of a time?! Is that it? Ohhh, spaceman, when we get out of here, I am going to--hold on, how did you find me?" she suddenly asked.
The Doctor looked away again, the hand holding the keys rubbing the back of his neck. "Well...I saw you, earlier," he said very casually.
"Saw me?" she asked, confused. "How could you have seen me? I was..." But she trailed off, the gears in her mind slowly clicking into place, until she gasped, backing away from him, and realising exactly what he'd meant. "You saw me?" she asked, waving her manacled hands up and down. "You just stood there and watched that happen?!"
He looked quite sheepish, not meeting her eyes again. "I don't suppose saying that you looked like you weren't in harm's way will help, will it?" he asked innocently.
"No. No, it won't, spaceman," she said flatly. "I can't believe you! I just can't! Of all the--"
"Sorry Donna, hold that thought," he hissed suddenly, his eyes catching sight of something down the corridor, and before she could respond, he'd pulled her in for a rough kiss, dragged her with him into a nearby--and thankfully, empty--room, and closed the doors. "That Mr Hedica was coming back this way," he explained while she just gaped at him, "And I reckon he was about to come by and take that dress back. Looks lovely, by the way." He was working to unlock the manacles from around her wrists, but tossed the keys over his shoulder when they wouldn't work, and resorted to the sonic screwdriver. "I wouldn't put it past this place to have a dress fee, or a jewellery fee or some other sort of fee, but considering what I'd paid, it wouldn't be too much to give them a bit more for you to keep your clothes on."
She rubbed her wrists once they were free. "How much did you pay?"
"In the end?" He sucked in a breath, seeming to think about it while he tucked his screwdriver away. "Forty-seven hundred tolumos."
"And how much is that when it's at home?" she asked, feeling rather proud she'd drawn in that much. Sounded like a decent sum to her.
"Ohhh, about...ten quid. I think. Depends on the conversion rates and how well the pound is do--."
The sound of her slap echoed throughout the room. "Ten quid?!" she asked incredulously. "You only paid ten flipping quid for me?!"
"Ten quid can buy you a house here!"
"Oh, so I'm a house now, am I?" she asked, pursing her lips together, hands propped on her hips.
The Doctor looked exasperated. "No, but, well, it'd be a--"
"If you're even going to say it's 'a nice house', you'd better shut your mouth right now, sunshine!" she interrupted, feeling rather hurt about the whole thing.
He muttered something under his breath, a hand rubbing at his poor, red cheek. "No, it'd be a mansion, but!" he exclaimed, holding his hands up. "We don't have time to talk about this. We have to get out of here before they turn the cameras on and realise we're not otherwise engaged with each other."
"Well good!" she exclaimed. "I wouldn't want to be. Not with you, you skinny bean pole of a man. You'd probably bruise me with your hip bones."
"Yeah, well, I wouldn't want to either!" he countered, sniffing and looking rather offended. Though she wondered if that was more from the jab at his skinniness more than anything.
A heavy, stubborn silence fell between them, neither of them wanting to speak lest they stick their feet in it even more than they already had done.
"Right, well," the Doctor said finally, reaching for her hand. Reluctantly, she took it. "I think I know a way out of here."
"I'd hope you do. You owe me a proper leisure planet after this, Doctor! With none of this high-end brothel nonsense!"
He smiled, squeezing her hand slightly. "Oh, and I know just the place. You'll like it! Begins with an M and has sapphire waterfalls and land made of diamonds."
"Sounds expensive," she replied, her interest piqued. "You sure you can pay for it?"
"Oh, didn't I tell you?" he asked playfully. "I've still got ten quid left."
Muse: Donna Noble
Word count: 3759