The Assassin of Madness

Chapter 7

Rose was surprised, to say the least, when there was a guard waiting outside, his hands clasped together firmly in front of him. She started a little when she saw him and then offered him a smile. "Hello," she said, "What are you doing here?"

"I am here to escort you to breakfast. It would not do for our guests to be lost, would it?"

"I suppose not," Rose replied. "Thank you."

The guard blinked at her and then nodded. "Yes, ma'am," he said, "Follow me, please."

The Doctor pressed a hand against Rose's lower back, urging her forward but only succeeding in making her fight down a shiver. The guard led them down hallway after identical hallway until they came across a large set of double doors with golden handles. He threw them open and announced, "The Doctor and Dame Rose Tyler, sir."

"Bring them in, and tell them I hope they don't mind, but a friend had dropped by this morning." The Emperor's voice called from inside.

"Yes sir," the guard turned back to face the Doctor and Rose. "A friend has dropped by the morning."

"Yeah, we heard," the Doctor nodded, "That's just fine, you can never have too many friends." He grinned at the man and they proceeded the guard into the dining room.

It was massive, to say the least, pure white, except for the tablecloth, which was the softest of reds. Rose had to keep her jaw clenched to keep herself from gaping at all the wonderful things around her. There were candles mounted on the pale walls, not lit, nor dripping with wax. It looked like something out of a dystopian novel, something that shouted 'look, don't touch.'

"Rose Tyler?" A voice said from the table, and, recognizing the voice, she snapped her gaze down to the beaming American who was sitting next to the head of the table.

She found herself grinning as he stood up and she ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck. "Jack!" She cried out as he lifted her off the ground and spun her around. He pulled away from her and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek.

"Look at you," he said fondly, "New haircut, better clothes."

"Oi!"

"And you," Jack peered around Rose to the Doctor, "it's good to see you too."

The Doctor was definitely trying not to smile, but he finally grinned and held his hand out for Jack to shake. Jack took a step away from Rose to shake the other man's hand firmly.

"I've got a question," Rose piped up, then lowered her voice, "How... How are you alive?"

"Bad Wolf," the Doctor and Jack said simultaneously.

The Doctor looked up and saw the Emperor, looking very confused, at the head of the table. "We're being rude again!" He told Rose, "My apologies, Emperor," he said, grabbing Rose by the hand and dragging her to a side of the table to she could sit across from Jack. Once they were all seated, the Emperor grinned at them.

"That's quite alright. I see you know my friend," the Emperor said.

"Yes, we used to travel together," the Doctor nodded as what appeared to be waiters and waitresses entered the room and started placing various breakfast foods on the table. "It feels like a lifetime ago."

Jack winked.

"Well, he's certainly been up to a lot here," the Emperor laughed, "In fact, I rather hated him when we first met."

The Doctor nodded solemnly as the food started being passed out. "He has that effect."

"I never had a problem with him," Rose remarked, spooning blue hashbrowns onto her plate.