She learned it the hard way. Some people were never meant to exist. Not even the Doctor wants her as a companion. But then the Master saves her from certain death and discovers that this human girl might be of more use to him than he expected.
Ranki...
A/N: Okay... I wanted to post this all in one go, but the chapter got insanely huge... so I split it.
Be prepared for the next one... it went not in the direction I planned... well, as if the story would ever do what I want... it has a mind of its own.
Anyway, enjoy and - in case the next chapter won't be out until then - have a nice Halloween night!
It's spooky season again and everyone should celebrate it *giggles*
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And party we did. The island was the best place anyone could imagine. It was just us, undisturbed and far from any annoyances. We laughed and joked and danced around the fire under the countless stars.
Kira slept inside our fire, which wasn't too surprising, although a little shocking for the first seconds. The Doctor told of his many travels. Donna made us laugh with funny occurrences with her granddad. And the Master surprised us by leading us deep into the mystery of an abandoned temple he had once found.
"Wow, y'actually do something else than making eeeevil plans." Donna waved her hands in a mocking gesture and snickered. "Did you know, Doctor?"
"Uhm... I uh... well, I bet he was hoping for some treasure or a weapon."
The Master rolled his eyes, but didn't even try to convince the other man. It made me remember something, though. When we had been to the abandoned city and also at other times I had seen the Master with a book, writing or scribbling something.
"That what you did?" I asked him. "I saw you with a sketchbook sometimes."
He turned his head away from the fire and smiled at me. "I like mysteries. It's fun to explore them. And it's fun to document the interesting stuff."
I could imagine it all too well, how he went out to search for the unsolved mysteries of the universe. Sometimes for an advantage, sometimes just for the sake of it. It fitted well with his usual behaviour, how he always suddenly got focused and even endurable when there was a puzzle to solve.
The Doctor kept staring. He rubbed the base of his neck and coughed awkwardly. "I... had no idea you're into that sort of thing," he confessed.
How could that be, I wondered. How could he know so little about the Master after travelling with him for so long, after they had been friends and enemies and everything in between for centuries. But the answer wasn't that hard to find.
"Because you never asked," I mumbled, my voice almost got lost in the fire's warm crackle.
There was a moment of silence, but Donna decided to prevent it from stretching by starting a story about a time she had fought a little war with an office printer. While she talked the Master quietly left and didn't return for a long while.
Eventually I decided to sneak away too, curious as to where he might have gone. It wasn't that I wouldn't have fun with the others, but the events of the day still lingered in my mind and the Master was the only one who knew.
