Mae and The Doctor

23 - An Offer

"Thanks, by the way," I shout over my shoulder as I dash back to the palace.

Luckily, when I get there, the guards haven't reformed. I slip through the slightly open doors of the castle; nobody's in here, except for the still frozen Doctor. Swallowing a lump in my throat, I creep along the wall and run into the first doorway. It appears I've entered a hallway, and I start hearing voices.

Looking both ways, I try to determine where they're coming from; my intuition leads me left. I let out a sigh as I encounter another hallway. After a few moments of standing there and straining my ears, I realize the voices are quarrelling. This can't be good. I take another left and start jogging.

The hallway leads into a circular room, blocked off by metal bars - like a jail. Through the bars I see men hanging on the wall, cuffs and chains holding their hands and feet. Luckily, they're all still alive.

"Mae," a voice shouts out. I walk closer and realize the person calling my name was John. Everybody stops talking and looks over at me between the bars.

"John," I shout back, my eyes wide. "Are you okay? Where's Sherlock?"

"I'm here," a deep voice calls from the opposite side of the room. He hangs his head, glaring over at me momentarily. Then he looks up at the ceiling, seemingly trying to figure something out.

"She's here to save us," John says, staring hopefully at me. "Right, Mae?"

I bite my lower lip. Why not? There's no harm in pretending you have a plan... right?

"Yeah," I say, grinning. Then I look to the bars blocking my way in, and I back up. Still backing up, I try to think.

I'm going to kick through the bars. But when - if - I get in, what then? There aren't any bobby pins in my hair, and I highly doubt they're just lying around in there. My lip hurts from me biting it so hard.

I stop backing up and prepare myself. Then, I run. And I jump, kicking my right leg out into the bars. They're made of ice, so I hope there's an easy and clear breakage.

There is. My foot still outstretched, I land in the same position on the floor, crouched, sliding a bit on the ice. A couple people cheer, and I see John grin at me. Standing up, I let out a cold breath. Then I walk over to John. I take the ice cuff in my hand and examine it. It locks the same way any other lock does, but there's no way it's as easy as breaking it against the wall.

"Have you tried smashing it against the wall?" I ask him. He nods at me, glancing over to Sherlock.

"Sherlock suggested it, because he realized they're made of ice," John says. He looks back down at me, his eyes pleading me to help.

"Give me a second," I say. Then I back up and unbutton my pants.

"Woah, woah," John says, "Mae, what are you doing?"

Some of the other guys giggle. I ignore John and unbuckle the belt around my shorts. Quickly, I button my gray pants again. Then I use the belt buckle to try and pick the lock; it works. John grins to me and pulls his hand down, but the cuff goes with it. He looks to me and both of our faces fall.

He tugs harder, moving his hand around, trying to get out of the unlocked cuff.

"What," John splutters, "what is this?!"

My jaw drops a bit, and I realize that the cuffs are frozen to his wrists. "They're," I start, "frozen to you... She froze them to your skin," my voice rises in anger near the end.

"Glad to see you're catching on," a cold female voice says from behind me. I spin around, glaring; it's Princess Sarah. "Are you trying to save the day?" she asks, her eyes piercing into mine. "Really, Mae, I thought you were smarter than that."

The princess kicks aside a piece of broken ice from the door and walks closer to me. Keeping her eyes locked on me, Sarah flicks her wrist up, and ice rises from the ground. The sharp ends point right at the men's necks.

"No," I scream, staring around the room. "You can't do this."

"But," she tilts her head, looking confused, "I just did." Then she grins, setting her head back up straight. "You're cute, Mae, thinking you can save these people."

"I can," I say, standing up straighter. "Because I'm going to put up an offer." I take a step closer to her.

"I'm listening," she says, eyeing me warily.

"You know that message one of your soldiers left on the TARDIS, about you and a child of the page?" I grin, still walking closer. "The child of the page is me. I'm the threat, Sarah; I'm what you're scared of. I hold information you can't even imagine, and I'm right here in front of you."

"You're bluffing," she says. The sentence sounds a lot less confidence as she says it. Smirking, I cross my arms.

"Oh, no," I say, holding my head up. "I am the child of the pages, and I'm supposed to fall. How ironic, though; I'm about to set all of these men free and leave unscathed." I tilt my head, giving her a challenging look. "Are you going to do something about it?"

She squints at me, saying, "You're asking me to kill you. You're literally asking me to kill you." I watch as gears click into place in her head. "You're offering your life... and for what?!"

"For these innocent people," I say, holding an arm out to indicate the men around me. "I'll let you kill me if you let them go."

"What if I kill you and don't let them go?" she asks, glaring around at the men.

"That won't happen," I say. "I know things you don't. That's why I'm the child of the page - I hold information against you."

There's a small moment of silence. Her expression is blank, but I can tell she's honestly considering. "Then who will I marry?"

"Me," a deep voice beside me says; it's Sherlock.