ADIUTRIX | DOCTOR WHO

↳ thin ice #5

"Come on! Hurry! Come on! Something's happened. They've got the word out. We blow it now!" HIs words were loud enough to reach Bill.

"No, not yet." Ophelia caught onto what made her stop and ran around to get everyone to leave. "Harriet, run!"

"But there's still people..." The little girl got down from her crate, where she'd climbed to get more visibility, with Ophelia's help.

"Forget them. There's no time." Bill's voice didn't leave any room for argument. "Kitty? Run! Now!"

She had been trying to get a couple of soldiers to leave but the warning made her run, the men gambling on top of a barrel simply waved her away. Ophelia quickly ran back to stand by Bill both bracing themselves for a big explosion, most likely a swim for their lives, as Sutcliffe primed his generator and pushed the lever. His henchmen cringed, expecting a boom or something dramatic, but nothing happened.

"What?" The racist once again pushed the plunger but the Doctor was to blame for a general lack of exploding ice. Both girls hesitantly opened their eyes, the few people still on ice going about normally.

He pushed the plunger one more time, distant explosions reaching their ears. Lord Sutcliffe got fed up with his useless workers, running into the frozen Thames himself towards a tent supposedly filled with fireworks and explosives. Though she trusted the time lord blindly, Bill began to usher a final wave of fair goers out of there.

Either way, this ground wouldn't be solid for too long.

"Quick! Get to the shore!"

All around them ice began to flourish with cracks, spreading out until pieces fell in the water. Lord Douchebag stared at a dorsal fin cause even more damage in disbelief, watching generations of his family's work be destroyed just like that. Not too far away Ophelia's first mistake was turning around to watch the majestic creature swim freely, that man falling into his watery demise being a very good bonus. Freedom! Her laugh echoed over a thawing river before going to catch up with Bill's long strides.

"Doctor!" The young woman pulled up a mess of pale pink fabric to climb up stone steps. "You did it!"

"I did it!" He still wore a lathery diving suit, showing a crazed smile in his smile. "Where's Ophelia?"

"Bill!" The last third of their crew raced barely ahead of a dangerous net of cracks, seemingly drunk on happiness. "Doctor!"

Happiness for what remained unclear. They'd managed to save every human on the ice, Douchebag Sutcliffe poetically met the same fate he'd condemned many people to. Freedom! The creature could finally live its best fish life on the depths of some other river where no one would enslave it again just as no one one would force her to do anything again. No more handmaiden fifty one. Ophelia would pick a last name, cut her hair the wrong way, make some bad fashion choices just because she could. She'd make mistakes and learn from them.

"You did it!" Her smile eased their fear. "We're free!"

Ophelia didn't have time to climb stairs so the Doctor and Bill knelt by a space between two wooden pillars, catching her arms after she'd jumped up for their hands and they pulled her onto the dockside with great effort. Bill's hug felt even warmer, though she still had some trouble responding to it.

"Don't ever do that again." Their shared smile solidified another step of friendship. The Doctor's face matched theirs while he pulled on a wire to retrieve his sonic screwdriver. The creature swam past them. "Where will she go?"

"Somewhere cold, I imagine." He continued to pull on the very long wire. "Hopefully, she's smart enough to avoid you lot now."

"What if she isn't? What if we just like, doomed Greenland?" Bill's curious nature amused Ophelia greatly.