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2016-01-01
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2022-06-09
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106/?
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Spinning Jenny

Chapter 103: The Queen of Hearts

Summary:

Jenny and Vastra's wedding night and ensuing

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Outside the hall, the noise level dropped immediately. Despite the fact it was barely into the evening, there was a hush over the entire palace. They froze as they heard hurried but muffled footsteps, but no-one materialised to throw them all out of the palace.

“I can’t believe we’re in Buckingham Palace," Jenny mused, gazing about her.

“Well this is a servant’s corridor,” Vastra said. “Shall we explore the rest?” She held their clasped hands up and grinned.

“But the Queen was most insistent that we didn’t go beyond the room,” Jenny pointed out, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

“But that one was on fire! She couldn’t possibly expect us to stay there. We’ll have to look around until we find another room to not go beyond.”

Jenny could find no fault in her wife’s logic and they followed the corridor along until they were able to find a small door which led out behind a tapestry. Having successfully fought their way round the tapestry they found themselves in a small, by the standards of a palace, room. It led onto others, but Jenny found the taste gaudy and ostentatious. She much preferred 13 Paternoster Row.

“Bit disappointing for a palace, ain't it, my love.” Jenny was getting bored and pulled her wife towards her, a quick kiss quickly deepening.

“I must admit it is not as intriguing as I expected. The only thing one can tell is that the person living here is very rich. There is very little personality.”

“Probably too much history to have individual personality. All the kings and queens that lived here, stamping about. How could you compete?”

“Perhaps there are more personable surroundings upstairs.” Vastra pointed to a staircase.

“The Queen’s private quarters?” even Jenny Flint was a little in awe of that trespass.

“Well, I think of you as my Queen.” Vastra pressed her forehead against Jenny’s.

“Really?” Jenny smiled.

“The Queen of my heart.” Vastra took Jenny’s hand and pressed it to her chest. “Really.”

It was too sincere for Jenny to laugh at or to brush off as Vastra coming up with an excuse, so she merely kissed Vastra instead. She looked around afterward, making sure that their escapade was not being observed. “Strange there ain’t no-one about. You’d think there’d be loads of servants and stuff.”

“Perhaps she took them all with her. Any that remain are probably enjoying a rest,” Vastra said, kissing Jenny back. “Shall we?”

Jenny placed a foot on the first step and, when nothing untoward happened, kept on stepping, Vastra following her, gathering up her dress so she could move more speedily.

Jenny couldn’t help but consider as she picked the locks to various rooms and gazed into them, how they contrasted to Paternoster Row. The rooms in Paternoster Row were elegant, she liked to think, with the mahogany panelling and good furniture but there was an air of them being lived in. There were books everywhere, the crocheted blankets, the occasional artefact they’d gained from a case. Vastra’s statues and plants. Organised and arranged of course, and well dusted but still comforting. It was a home. It was their home.

“You couldn’t pay me to live here, for all it’s a palace.” She gazed around another room that was far too big with far too little furniture and too much gold and huge paintings. Being stared at by so many eyes was off-putting. She kept expecting them to move. She tried to shake off the weight of their transgression as she reset the lock and moved onto the next room.

“Oh my,” Vastra breathed, opening the door fully as Jenny slipped the ever-present lockpick set back into her trouser pocket. George always gave her trousers with large ones, one the many things she liked about him.

“Queen Victoria’s bedroom.” Jenny’s eyes were round as marbles, not so much in awe of the décor, it was much like the rest of the palace, but the concept of Queen Victoria’s bed. She ran a hand over the hangings, the carpet making her eyes hurt. There was so much colour and gold. “Just as well I stopped being a thief, ain't it,” she whispered, gesturing to the variety of ornaments and silverware which looked so eminently pawnable.

“Ha!” Vastra laughed, returning to Jenny’s side. She spun round and sat down on the bed, bouncing slightly, as if to test the mattress.

“Get off there!” Jenny hissed. “She’ll know we’ve been here otherwise!” She attempted to pull Vastra upright but Vastra went limp and flopped backwards onto the bed, pulling Jenny on top of her.

Jenny rose up on her hands and knees, gazing down at her softly smiling wife, her heart thudding at Vastra’s beauty and also at a completely impossible, not to be considered idea that had just crossed her mind. And was on Vastra’s too. Jenny didn’t need a psychic connection to know that.

“No.”

“Hm? No what, my dear?” Vastra was already reaching up her hands and undoing Jenny’s buttons, her eyes never leaving Jenny’s.

“We can’t.” As much as she was protesting against the idea, at the same time, Jenny found herself unable to move away, unable to break their gaze. The idea was suddenly too tantalising, especially as Vastra’s hands tugged her shirt free and reached up to run fingers through Jenny’s hair. “I love you.” The hushed words spilled from her lips as her hair spilled from its bun and she bent and kissed Vastra on her forehead scale, all the way down her nose until she reached Vastra’s lips.

She was just about to lose herself in kissing Vastra and all that that would lead to when the door burst open.

“Oh! I’m terribly sorry.”

Jenny leapt up and whirled around, standing protectively in front of Vastra, ready to fight whomsoever had come through the door, even with her shirt untucked and half unbuttoned. She was not prepared for the familiar faces with eyebrows raised.  

“Great minds think alike I see.” Jack laughed as Jenny bent nearly double, one hand leaning on her knee, the other clutching at her heart. “Don’t worry. We’re not Queen Victoria,” he smiled at Oscar Wilde and then gave a lazy salute, “and we’ll leave you to it.”

“Why do I never, ever lock the door?” Jenny wheezed, straightening up and running a hand through her hair.

“I don’t know. Do you enjoy the thrill, my dear?”

Jenny yelped as on the word ‘thrill’ Vastra scooped her up. She lay in Vastra’s arms, sprawled in a very undignified manner, trying to catch her breath once more. “I enjoy the thrills you give me,” she managed to say.

“Well then, I shall give you some more.”

Jenny had seen Vastra smile a lot, in the years they’d been acquainted now. Cold smiles that never reached her eyes, smiles that showed her teeth and also exactly what she was thinking. Curious smiles, eyes filled with wonder or puzzlement, smiles that laughed, the big smile at their wedding. But the soft smile was new. Jenny could only think of one word to describe it. Adoring. But as with most of the rest of Vastra’s smiles, Jenny couldn’t contain the urge to kiss it.

*-*

It’d been a long day. An exciting one. An exhausting one. Those were the excuses Jenny used afterwards for falling asleep in Queen Victoria’s bed. She pointed out that it didn't matter that she hadn’t locked the door because if you could teleport straight into Queen Victoria’s bedroom, a lock was an irrelevancy. And! she’d continue, getting mildly kidnapped meant that they didn’t have to worry about the Queen coming back and finding them. And after all, she finished the argument with the undeniable fact that it had all worked out perfectly. So really, Doctor, you don’t have to rant at us about it for half an hour, while River Song sniggers in the corner.

*-*

Jenny was curled up asleep when the faint humming noise encroached on her hearing. She woke up quickly when a sharp flash of light accompanied it. Realisations soon piled into her head of where they were, and she shook Vastra awake and reached for her clothes as the light grew to a blinding intensity and then dimmed. Blinking away stars, she pulled her trousers and shirt on blind, hearing Vastra curse at the wedding dress.

“Come with us, if you want to live!”

There was a gunshot that took away any hope Jenny had of regaining normal eyesight any time soon.

“Jenny??!”

She whirled round at the sound of Vastra’s cry. “I’m here! I’m here! I think it was just a warning shot.”

“Gather your things!” a curt voice ordered.

“Alright! Alright!” Jenny lost her temper. “If I could see, I would!”

Another light flared but this time it was a match and it was used to light a candelabra. Jenny squinted, trying to see anything of the woman, going by the voice, that was currently threatening them. Very haphazardly, Jenny thought. Why fire off a shot and then not do anything more. And then give her a light source. She lowered the hand from in front of her eyes and then gaped at the face the candles illuminated.

“Darrow??!”

Vastra had succeeded in sorting out her dress and came to stand next to Jenny. “Ah. Pearce. Darrow,” she said disdainfully. “Is this because you didn’t get a wedding invitation? We rather thought that being in the future would prevent you from turning up but clearly not.”

“Couldn’t miss the nuptials of an old pal now, could we?” Darrow laughed, putting the candelabra on a dresser. “Congratulations, by the way. Sorry about the gunshot. She does like to get into character.” Darrow threw an arm around her wife’s shoulders and squeezed her close. “Such a ruffian. Anyway. We are here to...why do they call it kidnapping anyway. Kids. Not too bad I suppose. Naps. Great! Kidnap. Bad. Very bad. Doesn’t make any sense.”

“If it's so very bad, then why are you doing it to us?” Jenny asked sarcastically.

“We got asked to! Would you believe that? It’s a job.” Darrow rolled her eyes as Pearce gently removed her arm from her shoulders. “Anyways, if it’s not too much trouble.” She gestured for Jenny and Vastra to stand directly in front of her and Pearce. Jenny grabbed Vastra’s hand. “Yes! That’s it! Perfect. And now if you just hold hands with us too.” Darrow took Jenny’s hand with a winning smile. Pearce stared blankly as she shoved her gun back in its holster and grabbed Vastra’s. “And now! Are you ready?” Darrow pressed something on a contraption on her wrist and then grabbed Pearce’s hand as light burst from the small gem in it, twisting around the four of them. “Might get a little rough!” Darrow bellowed over the crescendo of the ear-piercing humming.

Jenny had a vague sense that she recognised the device on Darrow’s wrist. But the sensation was far different than anything she’d experienced before. The sudden weightlessness, as if she were floating a little bit off the floor of a golden cocoon. She closed her eyes as the light grew brighter and concentrated on holding Vastra’s hand very tightly. Whether she screamed or not she couldn’t tell, the humming was so loud it drowned out anything, any comforting words she might’ve said. She squeezed Vastra’s hand and thought “I’m here. I’m okay. It’s okay.” on repeat, praying the Silurian could hear her, knowing in all probability she couldn’t. Even on their wedding day, and their wedding night, it still got messed up, she thought wryly as the light started dimming.

She opened her eyes to find herself standing with the other three in a vast forest. Huge trees towered endlessly above them. There was a faint roar in the distance, but she couldn’t identify what it could be. The heat was over-powering, compared to a London winter. She and Vastra was so busy gasping and turning round that they failed to notice Darrow immediately pressing the button again and grabbing Pearce’s other hand.

“In true pirate style, we’re marooning you on a desert island!” Darrow laughed as she waved joined hands at them before the shimmering light enveloped the Space Pirates once more.

Jenny made to run at them but Vastra grabbed her and held her back. “Too late, my dear,” she muttered in Jenny’s ear as they disappeared. “We’re stuck here, I’m afraid.”

Notes:

ten points to anyone who can guess what's going on

yes there will be an XXXtended chapter once I've caught up on the other three XXXtended chapters that need doing. Literally. But not in that way.