‘Almost all of your systems on the surface have failed. I’m sure once the mainframes deep underground
kick back on, you’d be able to get back to your people, but that won’t happen
for another…three thousand years? Give
or take?’
Vastra looked at him, aghast.
‘Three thousand years.’
The Doctor nodded sadly.
‘Why not have your ship just…take me there? It travels in time, does it not?’
‘It does, but it’s not that simple, Vastra.’
The Doctor let go of her hands and rose to his feet. He walked around the bench as his hands found
their way to his hair again. She began
to realize that this was a nervous affectation he had, and it began to worry
her.
‘I could do that, certainly.
But you see…’
He was now standing behind her.
‘If I take you there, there’ll be questions about your
platoon mates. Questions you won’t have
answers for. Or rather, questions that
your answers won’t exactly be satisfying to hear. I know your people, Vastra…and they’re
amazing, and advanced…’
He sat back down next to her, shoulders slumped.
‘And if I take you to when they wake up, it’s very likely
that they’ll kill you because of what happened.
Even though it’s not your fault…even though it could never be your
fault.’
She wanted to argue with him, but she knew he was
right. Vastra had heard tales where a
lone warrior drove off an invading force after her whole platoon had been wiped
out, only to be cut down rather than rewarded for her bravery.
‘Then what will I do?
Travel with you as well?’
The Doctor shook his head.
‘No. At least not
now, anyway.’
Her eyes narrowed.
‘What do you mean by that?’
‘I mean that there may well come a time where you do travel
with me, but it’s not now. And I can’t
mess with time like that. Well, I can,
but it’s not a very good idea. It leads
to all kinds of mess and if there’s one thing I don’t care for, it’s a
mess. Besides, I still have to pick up
Amy and Rory, and…’
‘Amy and Rory?’
The Doctor nodded.
‘Yes. My friends,
remember?’
Vastra nodded.
‘So…I am not a friend then.
I see.’ Her voice was cold, distant,
and emotionless.
The Doctor grabbed her by the shoulders. She winced slightly from the shock and glared
at the Doctor, who eased his grip and wordlessly mouthed the words ‘I’m sorry’
to her.
‘It’s not that at all, Vastra…and yes, you are a friend!’
He paused, picking his words carefully.
‘I just…sometimes I know when someone is important, or will
be important to me. And something tells
me that you will be one of those people…but the time’s not right yet.’
‘And how can you know that, Doctor?’
‘I just know.’
She almost felt him close off toward her, and realized she
would get no further this day. She took
a breath, held it, and exhaled before replying.
‘So if not traveling with you, then what?’
The Doctor smiles slightly.
‘I have a plan. The
plan, in fact, is why I’ve been coming and going so much the past few
weeks. And when we get back to your
time, I’ll explain it all to you. Until
then, well…’
He stood and offered a hand out to her. After a few tense moments she took it and
allowed him to help her to her feet. He
put his arm around her shoulders again as they began the slow walk back toward
the palace.
‘Until then…we’ll enjoy their hospitality, you’ll rest and
finish recovering, and we’ll cross the other bridges as we get to them.
~~~
In
contrast to the funeral, Vastra awoke on the day of
coronation with the sun shining brightly through her windows. She
pulled the sheets away and rose from her
bed, feeling the heat and warmth sinking into her. She took a deep
breath and smiled. It was a gorgeous day, and she was finally
feeling like her old pre-battle self again.
She grabbed the ceremonial robes that had been left in her room the
night before and pulled them on. They
were brightly coloured, in massive contrast from the day to day robes or
funeral robes she’d grown accustomed to.
Thankfully, whoever selected her robes took into consideration the fact
that her coloration would clash with certain colours…the rich blues and
greens
of her robes complemented her particular viridian hue perfectly.
She made her way out of her room and was not at all
surprised to see the Doctor waiting for her.
She had to stifle a laugh as she took a glance at the oranges and
purples that clashed with garish intensity as they hung from his
shoulders. He opened his mouth to offer
a good morning and then snapped it shut again in indignation.
‘Oh, sure…you get robes that actually work for you. Me? I
get orange and purple. Is someone
blind?’
‘Oh come now, Doctor…I think they are rather…’
The Doctor raised a finger to hush her.
‘Not another word, Vastra.’
He walked past her, heading toward the great hall. Her smile widened for a second.
‘I saw that, you know.’
He pivoted on his heels in time to catch her smile turn to
shock.
‘Just kidding…but I had you worried there, didn’t I?’
She drew her lips closed tightly. The Doctor caught this and took a few steps
toward her.
‘Vastra…I was playing with you.’
She quickly closed the gap between the two of them and
placed her hands firmly on his shoulders.
He looked at her, fear and worry in his eyes. She moved even closer, brought her mouth to
his ear, and whispered.
‘So was I…but I had you worried there, did I not?’
She let go of his shoulders and walked past him, a small
smile playing across her lips.
‘Yes…yes you did,’ the Doctor whispered.
From half way across the great hall, he heard a voice.
‘I heard that, Doctor.’
~~~
The Coronation itself was, as she expected, immense. There seemed to be as many people in the
courtyard as had been there for the funeral, though this day instead of a sea
of black, dozens if not hundreds of difference colours vied for primacy and
attention. The Doctor and Vastra were
both accorded a special place at the front of the audience, and watched as
Prince Taisei was granted the robes and crown of his late father by Tsugu. As the crown was placed on his head, Taisei
looked down and caught their eyes. He
smiled and nodded his head slightly in recognition.
A cheer went up from the crowd as King Taisei rose to speak.
‘My people, it is with great humility that I stand before
you. Dark days we have seen of late, but
as the sun shines down on you all today, know this…that same sun rises on a
rejuvenated kingdom. I will carry on the
work my father began, and ensure that you are kept safe from anyone who would
try and harm you or our land.’
The crowd cheered a second time, even louder than the
first. Vastra almost had to cover her
ears from the volume.
‘We were most fortunate that in our time of need, an old
friend returned to us to offer guidance and counsel. Even more fortunate were we that our old
friend brought with him a new friend, who risked her own life to protect our
people. They are our honoured guests
this day, and you will treat them with the same respect that you offer to me. Come, my friends…stand with me this day!’
The Doctor and Vastra looked at each other. They both shrugged and walked up the steps to
stand next to the King and his court. An
even louder cheer erupted from the crowd, and this time both the Doctor and Vastra
did cover their ears. As the cheering
died down, the King spoke.
‘But enough of talk for now…today belongs to you, the people
of this kingdom. Eat…feast…celebrate a
new beginning!’
The crowd began to break up as tables of food were brought
out. King Taisei, his advisors, the
Doctor and Vastra walked back down the steps to mingle with the crowd. Both the Doctor and Vastra found themselves
surrounded by throngs of people offering their thanks for protecting the new
King and the kingdom, thanks that they tried desperately to brush aside as
unnecessary.
The feasting went on until nightfall, and people started to
head back to their homes. Taisei sat
with the Doctor and Vastra at the top step leading into the great hall and
breathed a sigh of relief.
‘I must say, my friends…I feared a repeat of what happened
at my father’s funeral.’
The Doctor turned to Taisei.
‘Understandable…but nothing to worry about. I found the ship those soldiers came from,
and disabled the homing beacons and communication links. It wasn’t even an interstellar class ship, so
how it got here I have no idea…but as far as any more nasties showing up…I
think you’ll be safe for a while.’
Taisei looked at the Doctor, confusion painted across his
face.
‘Tsugu told me you spoke oddly, but I did not expect to hear
you say things I could not understand.
What are these words?’
The Doctor laughed.
‘Nothing. Nonsense
words, I suppose. All you need to know
is that you’re safe from any more of those things attacking you. The hard part is up to you.’
‘What hard part is that?’
‘Being a good leader for your people.’
Taisei nodded. ‘That
will be difficult. There is much I need
to learn still.’