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Characters: Donna (

ofthesaltsea)
Location: The TARDIS! (Or rather, Donna's reality version of the TARDIS)
Time: During the fairytale plot!
Summary: The only fairytale ending Donna wants right now is the uninterrupted bliss of a bubblebath. Sadly, she isn't going to get it, but does get a visitor and a lost possession in return.
Warnings: Reality-hopping shenanigans! (Okay, so none really, but I didn't want to make this section all lonely and stuff.)

After all the recent excitement, Donna was more than happy to ditch the special sunglasses and the dark energy powers. She never did get used to having them and got lost using that dark portal thing more times than she'd like to admit.

However...it did lead her to discovering a nice room in the TARDIS she hadn't used before. Had she found it early on in her travels, she would've been appalled and most likely insulted that the Doctor had neglected to mention the existence of a bathroom with a sauna. By now, though, she's been with the Doctor for...actually, she'd lost track of how long she's been with him, but however long it's been, it's been quite a while and she isn't surprised he'd forgotten about this room. She was fairly certain that he just had so much stuff and rooms crammed into the TARDIS that there was no way possible for even him to keep track of it all. Not with that brain of his running at the speed of light all the time and processing lord knows how many thoughts at once. How he didn't think himself dizzy she'd never know.

But thankfully, the day she discovered this wonderful bathroom of glory, she'd had a notebook on hand and was able to note down the many turns and she made trying to find her way back to a familiar section of the TARDIS. She'd happily take this substitute since the Doctor was dragging his feet bringing her to a resort planet. As she walked down the twisting corridors in her robe and fuzzy slippers, towels slung over one arm while she held her scribbled directions in front of her, she couldn't help wondering if there was a shorter way there. Granted, another thought about what she'd do if the room had been mysteriously moved in the meantime had crossed her mind and she hoped for the Doctor's sake that that wasn't the case. She knew he was tinkering with the TARDIS console at that very moment and really hoped he wasn't in a redecorating mood.

As soon as she turned a corner, she found herself in the long and somewhat dusty corridor she'd turned up in a few days ago and gave a little cheer in excitement before continuing to make her way down to that special bathroom. Her footprints from before were still there--though in hindsight, wearing her fuzzy slippers probably hadn't been the best idea but she wasn't about to turn back now and exchange them. If the arrangement of the corridors did change while she was having a bath, she wouldn't mind playing a little Marco Polo with him, or simply demanding he put things back to the way they were before. That worked just fine for her as well.

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The ideal thing for a woman who wanted a bubble bath was to have somebody come crashing in on a horse at gallop. Morgana's reflexes were good—she pulled on the reins, called, "Stop!" and avoided falling off as her horse reared. What mattered was that the woman before her was uninjured. Morgana dropped off of the horse, walking quickly over to Donna's side. "I hope I did you no harm, my lady. How can I atone for such recklessness that would endanger you?"

The very last thing she ever expected to appear in the hallway of the TARDIS was a flipping horse! Granted, if she'd heard the thing coming round the corner, she might have been more prepared--she wouldn't have worn her fuzzy slippers that's for damn sure--but it just appeared out of nowhere! Nothing was ever supposed to do that. (She chose to ignore the fact that she appeared in there suddenly herself ages ago. At least she had an excuse!)

But it didn't take long for Donna to regain control of her mouth, though. "'Atone'?" she asked incredulously. She hadn't quite heard everything that came out of Morgana's mouth; she'd blame the shock. "I'll tell you what you can atone! And what the hell are you doing riding a horse around here for?"

"My apologies, my lady. I don't know how we ended up here." She knelt before Donna. "I am Prince Morgan. What can I do to to beg your forgiveness?"

The kneeling, admittedly, threw her off. "I--Look, it's all right, Prince...Morgan, right?" she asked, letting go of her temper. Her hands tightened the robe around her body more so out of habit than a sudden need to check her modesty. "You're from the Plane, yeah?"

She frowned. "The plain? No, my family's territory is wooded. There is a desert a little ways away, but not a plain."

Donna couldn't help giving Morgan a look before she sighed. So much for that, then. She knew they were still in flight and hadn't landed, so how could a random person turn up inside without being pumped full of huon particles or whatever?

"Never mind, it's not important. Let's just figure out what to do with you now that you're here..." She could feel her sauna-time slipping away from her and sighed mentally. At least she knew the way, and the hoof marks on the floor would be a good indicator for a later expedition. "Would you like some coffee or tea?"

"I do not know coffee. What is it?" The horse called for attention, and Morgana turned away temporarily, to return to its side and sooth it.

"It's sort of like...well, you've had tea, right? It's a bit like tea with the caffeine and all, but it's a different taste. Smells wonderful, but is really bitter, so you might want a bit of sugar and cream in yours." Then Donna glanced down at her current attire. "Tell you what. You come with me, I'll set you up in the kitchen and get Mister Ed here some sugar cubes while I change into something different."

Mister Ed? Morgana looked at her horse, uncertain. Was that its name? Yes. Certainly. Why wouldn't it be? The detail slipped into her history as if it had been, and she smiled graciously at Donna. "Many thanks for your hospitality, my lady. I would be honoured."

She returned a half-smile, still entirely perplexed by the whole situation, and hooked her arm around "Morgan's". "This way. It isn't too far." A wary glance was thrown the horse's way. "And," she added, "let's hope Mister Ed doesn't leave us any gifts on our way there."

All her luck, she'd be the one having to clean it up later. It certainly wasn't a task she relished; she'd rather be bounced around the console room like a pinball.

It was as she was walking that something shook it out of her. Morgana's eyes widened, and she turned to look at Donna. "Donna. How could I have forgotten you? It's Morgana. I had forgotten who I was." She tried not to sound as alarmed by that as she was.