SHROUDED IN DARKNESS
Chapter Two When Amy got up to the second level of the wardrobe room, there was already something waiting for her in her size. She walked over to a wooden table and saw a white, lacy ball gown, the kind that princesses wear in fairy tales. She fingered the delicate satin and looked at the satin slippers that had little silk bows on top of it. Amy smiled and nodded. "I love it," she said. She heard the TARDIS rumble and knew she was replying to her, possibly even saying you're welcome. She hadn't quite gotten used to the fact that the Doctor's ship was alive but she couldn't think of a more wonderful ship to travel in. She picked up the dress and noticed there was underwear and tights underneath it. She laughed. "You think of everything, don't ya," she said. After putting it on, she checked herself in a full length mirror. The white gown accentuated her figure perfectly and it made her red hair look even more stunning. Amy swayed from side to side looking at her reflection before she headed back downstairs. When she reached the console room, she froze when she saw the Doctor. He was dressed in a one piece black outfit that had a skeleton on the back of it. He turned as he sensed her coming in and he saw the skeleton on the front of the one piece outfit. She giggled when she saw his face. He had taken black and white greasepaint and made his face look like a skull to go along with the skeleton costume. What made her laugh was he didn't put a bald cap or any covering over his hair and his fringe flopped over his skull face making him look bizarre. Amy stopped laughing after a moment when she noticed the Doctor hadn't moved since he saw her. He was staring at her in silent awe. The Doctor was gobsmacked. He thought Amy was beautiful but seeing her like this…for a moment, he flashed back to the time Rose wore the Victorian dress when they met Charles Dickens and how that had also left him speechless. He was of the opinion that his female companions needed to wear more elegant dresses since Amy looked just like a princess. He was about to comment on how beautiful she looked when Amy started giggling again. He gave her an annoyed look. "May I ask what's so funny?" he said. "Your floppy hair over your skull face?" she said. "A skeleton can have hair," the Doctor pointed out quickly, "I'm not done decomposing yet and I didn't feel like covering up my magnificent hair." "Okay, okay, don't get angry, it's your costume," Amy said, laughing as she held up her hands. The Doctor came down the steps and walked over to her. "You, on the other hand, look beautiful. You look exactly like the fairy tale Pond I mentioned the night I met you." "And you're not Prince Charming then?" Amy said. The Doctor bit back a comment of how he would like to be her Prince Charming and gave her a warm smile. "I don't do medieval costumes," he said. "It's not really me." "And skeleton costumes are?" Amy said. "Yes, because it makes me look menacing," the Doctor said in a deadpan voice. He grinned when Amy gave him a long, hard stare. "The bow tie doesn't make you look menacing, why should this thing be any different?" she finally said, gesturing to the skeleton outfit. "Bow ties are cool," the Doctor said, coming closer to her. "You like saying that, dontcha?" Amy said. "Sure do because it's the truth. It's also my little catchphrase, sorta like Geronimo. It makes me uniquely me." "If you say so," Amy said. The Doctor smiled and bent his arm, waiting for her to thread her arm through it. Instead, Amy took his hand. "I never liked arm in arm that much," she said. The Doctor was secretly thrilled that she preferred holding his hand. Her hand was soft and warm to the touch and he was once again reminded of Rose and her hand used to fit perfectly in his. He glanced down and saw that the same was true of their hands. "Hey, Boney Boy? We gonna go out now or stand here all night holding hands?" "We're still in flight," the Doctor said. "No, we're not, your thingamabob stopped moving," Amy said, pointing up to the rotor. The Doctor was so preoccupied with Amy that he hadn't realized they landed. He let go of her hand and sprinted up the steps. He checked the monitor and noticed that according to the data, they had landed near a town. The Doctor assumed the party was in town somewhere. He relayed this information to Amy who was standing at the bottom of the steps. "The TARDIS doesn't know the name of the town?" Amy said. "No, we've never been here before. She's only able to give me basic details that are pretty much common knowledge. I don't even know where the fancy dress party is being held, we'll have to ask once we get outside," the Doctor said, powering down his ship. "Wait, if she doesn't even know where she landed, how can she be sure there's a party tonight? I don't want to walk out there like this if she got the location wrong." "You still look beautiful, what's wrong with looking like this every once in awhile?" the Doctor said. "Okay, perhaps I can pull off the dress but what about you with the skeleton clothes and skull face?" Amy said in amusement. "Amy, there is something you need to know about me," the Doctor said. "Yeah, you're definitely a mad man with a box, I know that." "Yes, but there's something else you need to know about me." "And that is?" "I like to walk around as if I own the place," the Doctor said smugly. "Aha, so that's why you can walk around and pretend that bow ties are the height of chic when they're not." "Bow ties are cool," she said at the same time he did. The Doctor eyed her while she gave him an impish grin. A grin spread over his face and he held out his hand. Amy took it and they walked to the front door. He opened the door and looked out. He noticed that the TARDIS was parked beside a small unadorned wooden house. He stared at it for a moment before he came outside with Amy. Amy stared at the house while the Doctor closed the door. "Are you sure we're on an alien planet? This house looks like it belongs in the 1800's," she said. The Doctor pointed up at the sky and Amy followed his finger and saw two suns hovering in the air above them. "Okay, so it is an alien planet. But is it Samhain?" she asked. "One way to find out," the Doctor said, taking her hand. He walked around to the front of the house and knocked on the wooden door. Amy stared at his skull face and wondered if she should run back in the TARDIS before the Doctor embarrassed them both. The door opened a crack and Amy saw half a man's face peek out at them. The man's blue eye looked first at her and then looked at the Doctor and Amy noticed that he was staring directly at his skull makeup. "Hello," the Doctor said cheerfully. "We're strangers here. We're looking for the fancy dress…" The man slammed the door quickly. "Party…" the Doctor finished while Amy tried to conceal her laughter. "Okay, we find someone else then." "Somehow I get the feeling the reaction is gonna be the same wherever you go," Amy muttered as they turned and walked away. Amy's suspicions were confirmed when she saw people walking by them and doing a double take at their outfits. A few of them stopped in their tracks and gaped at the Doctor as he casually strolled past them without a care in the world. Amy felt herself blushing when one little girl stopped and tugged on her mother's hand, pointing at the weirdo as she called him while her mother gave the Doctor a stern look. To Amy's horror, the Doctor turned towards them and waved cheerfully. The woman suddenly looked like she wanted to be anywhere but where she was and Amy fully shared that sentiment. "Good afternoon," the Doctor said to the woman. "My friend and I are trying to find a fancy dress party which is why we're dressed this way. Can you direct us to the place where they're holding it?" Amy knew from the confused look on the woman's face that they had landed in the wrong place. "I'm sorry?" the woman said. "You're looking for what?" "Fancy dress party. Place where people party and wear costumes." "There are no parties here, this town is cursed and if you knew what was good for you, you'd get away from it as fast as you could. Now, good day!" "Wait, what sort of curse?" the Doctor said. But the woman was already hurrying off, her little daughter was staring over her shoulder at them while they walked away. "So, see, I told ya that you might have gotten it wrong," Amy said. "No fancy dress party. Might as well go somewhere else." She tried to walk away but the Doctor jerked her hand. "Didn't you hear her? This town is cursed, let's go find out why." Amy groaned softly and followed behind the Doctor while he tried to find someone else to talk to.
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