An Adventure Among the Stars

Brave Kings

Harry took in a deep breath and followed the Doctor in the TARDIS.

Such a funny name for a spaceship, Harry thought.

Harry watched his bright blue Wellies carry him inside, being careful not to trip over himself. It was only when he looked up when his eyes grew so wide that he feared they were going to pop out of his head.

“Whoa,” Harry whispered.

He couldn’t believe what he saw. The doctor had been right. For the TARDIS wasn’t small in the least bit. It was gigantic! Harry believed that it had to be bigger than every room in his entire house, combined. 

Harry gazed about the enormous room filled with things he had never seen before. Strange lights blinked and twinkled about while wires and tubes were strung out in various places. 

In the middle of the room was an odd contraption that Harry couldn’t even form a thought about what it could be. 

Maybe it was the engine, pondered Harry.

He continued to walk further inside and his eyes fell onto the Doctor who had appeared from behind the engine. 

The Doctor smiled at the expression on the boy’s face. His mouth was hung slightly ajar with his eyes full of wonder.

“So what do you think?” the Doctor asked.

Harry smiled up at him, “It’s really, really big.”

The Doctor chuckled, “I told you so.”

He watched as Harry reached up to graze his hands over the many knobs and buttons located on the panels. Despite what the boy had told him, he looked very small compared to the large structure.

“How does it work?” Harry asked, his brows knitted together quizzically.

“Well,” the Doctor looked up in thought. This was going to be difficult. Describing what the TARDIS did was easy enough. Even the young Harry was able to understand. It was describing how the TARDIS worked that was more problematic.

He looked back to the boy who was anxiously awaiting his explanation. Tapping his finger against his chin, an idea formed and the Doctor smiled.

“Would you like for me to show you?”

Harry nodded excitedly with deep dimples and curls flopping over his forehead. 

The Doctor laughed, “Alright, then! Hold onto something and brace yourself!”

Harry quickly scuttled over to a seat and sat down, finding the straps to buckle himself in.

The Doctor looked over his shoulder at the boy and made a face, “I didn’t know those had seat belts. Well done, Harry.”

Harry situated himself in the seat, bouncing with enthusiasm while his feet swung back and forth above the floor.

The Doctor rapidly turned knobs and pressed numerous buttons. Before long, the TARDIS came to life. Lights flashed and the loud whirring sound that had caused Harry to wake up just moments ago, now filled his ears once again.

Suddenly, the whole place began to shake and vibrate, forcing Harry to grip the sides of his seat as tightly as he could. He could feel his heart pounding against his chest again.

This is not like the plane ride to that pizza country, Harry thought, trying to remember the actual name but his mind wasn’t entirely focused on names of countries at the moment.

“Hold on, Harry Styles! We’re almost there!” he heard the Doctor shout over the noise.

The Doctor looked at the boy who was being rocked and swayed by the motion of the TARDIS, his eyes shut tightly until it stopped. Everything was calm and peaceful again as Harry slowly opened his eyes.