Winter Light
by Julio Angel Ortiz
‘You cannot trust the Doctor, my Liege.’
‘Why do you say that?’ the King asked. ‘He seems to be fair and honest.’
‘He will bring all of our plans to ruin. If you give him any sort of leeway in these matters, he will surely use it to destroy the Tower.’
The King rubbed his chin. ‘I’m not so sure about that.’
‘Oh, believe it. I know. I’ve seen it happen. I have seen the trail of dead that the Doctor leaves behind in his wake. You must not allow him to stop your plans, my Lord.’
‘You have been a faithful servant, and I have no reason to mistrust your judgement,’ the King said. ‘But, if what you say is true, then what would you do?’
A tight laugh echoed throughout the room. ‘Don’t worry, my Lord. Leave the Doctor to me.’ The speaker paused for a moment, leaning in closely, his voice lowering. ‘I will deal with him in my own time.’
*
‘You’re the Doctor?’
Ruby rolled her eyes as she turned away, then looked down at her feet as she tapped one foot against the ground. In front of her, the Doctor was facing one of the local doctors, a man by the name of Heinlen.
‘Yes, I already told you that,’ the Doctor said.
‘I understand that, but doctor of what? Of whom?’
The Doctor looked back down at the paper that Heinlen was holding. ‘I do not quite understand what the problem is. That paperwork gives me authority to inspect the body and assist in or perform any autopsies on the bodies of the victims.’
‘I can see that.’
‘So,’ the Doctor raised his voice, ‘why are you standing here harassing me?’
Heinlen kept his eyes levelled with the Doctor. ‘I simply want to understand what credentials you bring to this investigation.’
The Doctor smiled. ‘On one lovely world that I visit frequently, there is an old expression. “Ours is not to reason why.” Or something like that.’ The Doctor paused. ‘So stop reasoning and kindly move aside so that I can start my investigation.’
Heinlen stared at the Doctor for a moment longer, and then, with a grunt, stepped out of the way.
‘Thank you, sir,’ the Doctor said, nodding slightly before proceeding into the morgue. Ruby hurried in after him, glancing briefly towards Heinlen before tutting. Heinlen let out an audible sigh, and followed them in.
*
Episode Two
Upon entering the room, Ruby shuddered visibly, her grip tightening on her book. She was surprised to find that the cause was not the cooler air in the morgue. It was the mood of the room. The walls were a stale white and overhead, long strips of light filled the mortuary with a hazy glow, contrasting cruelly with the black and charcoal-grey of the refrigeration chambers.
Ruby’s eyebrows flexed upwards involuntarily for a moment as she scrutinised the chambers. They were oblong, with clear plastic formed into rounded covers over them. On the side of the case, where it met the black and grey bottom-half, was a handle. As Ruby stepped forward, she realised that, despite the covers being transparent, she could not see through them. Within the caskets, the air was cool and swirling, like compact fog trapped in a bottle. Looking up again, she saw Heinlen leading the Doctor to the back of the room. Ruby quickened her pace, now realising that there must have been over thirty refrigeration chambers in the room. The thought of thirty bodies in such close proximity gave Ruby another shudder, although she tried not to make this obvious as she moved closer to the Doctor.
‘Here,’ Heinlen began, ‘is who you’re looking for.’ His hand moved in an arcing motion, pointing out a trio of chambers. ‘Here are three of the victims.’
The Doctor nodded slowly. ‘Thank you, I appreciate your help.’
Heinlen nodded, and with a final glance at Ruby, departed.
Ruby looked back at Heinlen as he left the room, before returning her attention to the Doctor. ‘He’s an odd one, isn’t he?’
The Doctor was busy lifting up the handle of a refrigeration chamber, sliding the plastic cover back. A blast of cool air rushed up at the Doctor, and Ruby felt a chill as it permeated the atmosphere around her. ‘Hmm?’ he asked.
‘Oh, nothing,’ Ruby said, unable to keep the annoyance she felt out of her voice.
‘Right, right,’ the Doctor said, looking down into the chamber as the frigid air in the casket gave way to the corpse lying therein. ‘Shall we get to work?’
*
Ruby sat off to the side, as the Doctor finished his work.
She was reading through her copy of The Wasteland, flipping back and forth as she read the annotations at the end of the book and the verses they matched. She had been doing this for a few hours, when the Doctor called out to her.
‘I am just about done here. I know that you must be terribly bored.’
‘No, Doctor,’ she lied. ‘Not in the least.’
The Doctor smiled. ‘Well, be that as it may, I am feeling a bit peckish. How about you?’
Ruby shot a glance back at the Doctor. ‘Peckish? How can you be hungry after opening those people up?’
The Doctor removed his bloodstained gloves and threw into a near-by receptacle. ‘Ruby, they are dead.’
‘And how does that make a difference? You’re still opening them up and playing around with their innards. It’s certainly not something you can do while having some tea.’
The Doctor let out a small chuckle. ‘I suppose with my years of experience, one can develop a certain sense, oh, detachment, I suppose.’
Ruby stared blankly at the Doctor for a moment. ‘I still say it’s disgusting,’ she said at last.
The Doctor feigned a hurt look. ‘Really, Ruby.’
‘Don’t give me that look, pet. You’re the one who is carving up the bodies! I honestly don’t see how anyone can do that.’
‘Science would never have been advanced had not a few people gotten their hands dirty.’ He pointed at the corpse on which he had just been working. ‘Unfortunately, to find answers, you cannot be squeamish. It is an sad truth of life, Ruby.’
Ruby looked down at her feet as she stretched out her legs, then shook her head. ‘What did you find?’
‘A few interesting things,’ the Doctor said, walking up to Ruby and placing his hand on her back, motioning to the door. Ruby leaned forward and began their slow walk to the exit.
‘They died of extreme synaptic shock,’ the Doctor continued.
Ruby nodded, walking through the doorway and into the long corridor ahead. ‘Okay…’
‘But there were some unusual complications,’ the Doctor continued.
A smile drew itself on Ruby’s face. ‘I was waiting for that.’
The Doctor seemingly ignored her. ‘It appears that the cause of death was somehow psychosomatic.’
Ruby’s eyebrows crinkled. ‘Psycho-what?’
‘Psychosomatic. It is almost as if they willed themselves to die. There was nothing wrong with them. No drugs in their system, no diseases. At a synaptic level of the brain, I found some strange readings. Something began to break down the old grey matter, setting off the shock that killed them. Except there appears to be no external reason for this happening.’
‘So… any ideas?’
‘Only one,’ the Doctor said. ‘Where can we get a bite to eat around here?’
*
Some of the universal constants never failed to amaze Ruby. Mad men, evildoers, dictators, corridors, and finally, restaurants.
More to the point, bad service in restaurants.
Ruby looked around. The restaurant was not particularly large. Along one side were windows, forming the south side of the building. The booths were up tight next to them. There was a small void between the booths and the next area of tables and chairs. In this space was where people would shuffle back and forth to either get to their tables, leave, or head for the restrooms. This narrow space was also where the waiters would move back and forth, carting their food and drinks to the clientele. Ruby looked on at this terrible dance between patron and waiter, and then returned her attention to her menu.
‘What will you have?’ the Doctor asked.
Ruby’s lip curled and made an mm sound. ‘Not quite sure. You?’
The Doctor made the same mm sound, and looked up at Ruby with a smile. She glanced up, vague annoyance mingling with a crooked grin.
‘Oh, you!’ she said, as she folded the menu and swung it over towards the Doctor, hitting him in the shoulder. The Doctor recoiled instinctively, laughing as she moved.
‘In all seriousness,’ the Doctor said, clearing his throat, “I think I am in the mood for eggs benedict. I have not had those in a while.’
Ruby nodded, looking at the back page of the menu. ‘I wasn’t sure if I felt like breakfast at all.’
The Doctor took a sip of coffee. ‘There is always room for breakfast, Ruby.’
Ruby nodded reluctantly, half-listening to the Doctor as her gaze quickly darted around the menu. Suddenly, she was aware of a presence next to her. Looking up, she saw their waiter.
‘Are you ready to order?’ he asked.
The Doctor looked at Ruby with his eyebrows raised. ‘Well?’
Ruby looked from the Doctor to the waiter and then back. ‘If you go first, I’ll be ready.’
The Doctor nodded and looked up at the waiter, handing him the menu. ‘I will have eggs benedict. Could I also get some sourdough toast as well, please.’
Ruby looked up at the Doctor, her eyes slightly narrowed. The Doctor shrugged. ‘I just happen to like sourdough toast,’ he said, reaching for his cup of coffee.
‘And what about you, ma’am?’ the waiter said.
Ruby looked down at the menu. She let out a chuckle. ‘I’m afraid I still haven’t decided.’ She glanced up at the waiter. ‘Do you have any suggestions?’
The waiter smiled, his left eye closing in thought as he looked up. ‘Hmm… the Carvellian Kama Eggs are absolutely delicious. We have a spicy Danuvian sauce that goes wonderfully with it.’ The waiter paused, and when Ruby did not respond, he quickly added ‘It’s quite good, honest.’
Ruby looked back down at the menu again. ‘Anything else?’
‘There is Tremerian Hact’a Pudding. It’s the “breakfast that tastes like a dessert.”’
Ruby began to nod furiously. ‘All right, then. I’ll have scrambled eggs and a side of wheat toast.’
The waiter tilted his head to the side, and then wrote down Ruby’s order. The waiter then took the menus and left.
The Doctor winced. ‘All that time, just for eggs and toast?’
‘Well, I couldn’t decide, so I stuck with the basics,’ Ruby said, giggling as she reached for her orange juice. After taking a sip, she continued. ‘Any ideas, Doctor? I mean, really. About these murders?’
The Doctor shook his head, putting his coffee cup down. ‘I am baffled. What could possibly make people have such a fatal mental reaction?’
‘Maybe they were scared to death.’
‘Even something like that would leave a clue in their body - there would be a greater amount of adrenaline in their bloodstream. There was nothing like that in these cases.’
Ruby nodded, taking another sip of her orange juice. Something caught her eye at the back of the restaurant. To the side of the bar counter, where people were sitting and eating alone, a waitress was moving away from a customer through the swinging door that separated the kitchen from the dining area. In front of the door, something was dripping from the ceiling.
Ruby opened her mouth to comment on the apparent water leak, when she realised that it was not water. It was pale. No, she thought to herself. Not pale - white.
‘Doctor,’ Ruby began, ‘look at that. Looks like paint dripping from the ceiling.’
The Doctor turned around in his chair, looking back at the whiteness dripping from the ceiling.
‘Maybe somebody was working on the roof and accidentally knocked over a paint can,’ Ruby opined.
‘No,’ the Doctor said, still facing away from Ruby.
The tone in the Doctor’s voice made Ruby’s hair on her arms stand up. ‘What is it?’ she asked.
The Doctor slowly stood from his chair. ‘That is not paint, Ruby.’
Ruby shot up in her seat, and took another look. At last, she realised what the Doctor meant. The white dripping from the ceiling was pooling onto the ground. The pool, however, was unnaturally building upwards, not thinning out across the floor. Restaurant patrons began to murmur amongst themselves, several moving away quickly from the strange white substance.
‘What is that?’ Ruby repeated; her voice filled with both fear and awe.
The Doctor held his gaze on the strange accumulation. ‘I am not sure, Ruby, but I do not like the looks of it.’
The white finished dripping from the ceiling, and the pile grew, forming slowly into what appeared to be a humanoid figure.
‘That’s amazing!’ Ruby heard herself say.
‘Indeed,’ the Doctor said, standing and positioning himself in front of Ruby. ‘And also very curious. I wonder what its intentions are.’
‘The white,’ Ruby said. ‘Its colour- something is wrong about the way it looks.’
The Doctor nodded. ‘Yes, I see it.’ He let a beat pass. ‘I am not sure it is so much that the being is white, so much as he seems like a figure drawn against a scene, and then somebody decided to completely erase him.’
Ruby stared for a moment, and then her jaw fell. ‘Oh my giddy aunt, Doctor. That’s it!’
‘But what is it exactly?’ the Doctor wondered aloud.
The white figure stood motionless for a moment. The restaurant became a cacophony of sound. Some diners were bolting for the door, leaving screaming hostesses in their wake. Others were trembling and mumbling in fear, unable to move. Yet others pointed and gawked, daring to take one or two steps closer. The white figure moved with lightning speed.
In a moment, the being was near the Doctor and Ruby, right arm raised and then sweeping down in an arc. The Doctor moved back, pulling Ruby by her collar. They stumbled back, as the white being barely paused. It used its forward momentum to hurry forward, head down like a bull, and bringing its left arm upwards, into an uppercut punch. The Doctor moved his head back just in time, the white fist missing his jaw by a mere inch. The Doctor gripped Ruby by the arm and pushed her to the side. He then dropped back just as the white being swung his fist laterally. The Doctor crashed onto a table, flipping over and landing on the floor with a hard thump.
The white being moved its head to the side, and seemed to be looking at Ruby. It took slow, careful steps towards her. Ruby was still sprawled on the floor, and trying to get a hold of her senses. She began to creep backwards, maintaining her gaze on the white creature approaching her.
The Doctor slowly got up from the floor, his right hand finding a discarded serving tray on the floor and looked over towards the white being. ‘Ruby, stay down!’ he cried, as he threw the platter like a Frisbee.
It sailed through the air and right through the white being. It landed with a loud crash by the bar counter.
The white being did not even flinch. It stood over Ruby, looking down at her. She sat motionless, fear gripping her arms, cramping them and nailing them to the floor. The white being began to kneel down, one hand outstretched.
‘Leave her alone!’ came a voice, and when Ruby looked up, it was her waiter. He ran over, reaching out and grabbing the white being’s arm. In response, the white being placed its hand on the waiter’s face, smothering him.
A muffled scream came from the waiter.
Ruby grimaced at the sound. It was unlike anything she had ever heard before. It was primal, horrid, as if some deep part of the man had snapped; some part of him had rejected his existence, and this was the result. This scream. The world seemed to shatter into a series of disconnected images and emotions.
Ruby thought that her ears would begin to bleed.
The man fell to the floor, trembling violently. Foam escaped from his mouth.
In the background, the Doctor screamed something, and began to move towards Ruby. For some strange reason, it appeared to Ruby that he was moving in slow motion.
The white being looked down at Ruby, holding her gaze for a moment, and then started to melt again, bleeding into the floor.
Ruby wanted to scream, but could not. She wondered, for a brief moment, if her mouth had ceased to exist.
In that instance, Ruby thought of home.
The world reconnected as she heard the Doctor’s voice.
‘Ruby?’ he said. ‘Ruby? Can you hear me? Ruby?’
Ruby looked at the Doctor, and then slowly turned her gaze to the waiter. Vaguely, she could understand that the waiter was saying something. The words seemed very distant, but were gradually coming to the fore. Ruby turned back to the Doctor, now unable to hear him. She could only focus on what the waiter was screaming, on the voice of the man who had most likely saved her life.
‘What is food?’ he cried, in this horrible voice that Ruby knew would haunt her for the rest of her life.
*
The cabin door gave way to a strong gust of wind, suddenly bursting open and giving entrance to snow and ice.
The Doctor stood and rushed over to the door. He quickly shut it and hooked the latch into place, double-checking to make sure that it was secure. After he was satisfied, he walked away, down the small hallway towards Ruby’s room. He entered, looking over at her and seeing that she was still asleep. Her breathing was shallow. The Doctor shook his head and rubbed his temple. He placed his hand on her arm, and felt the cool of Ruby’s skin. He moved over to the chair beside the door, and removed an additional blanket that lay there. Unfolding it, he placed the rug over Ruby, before leaving the room.
The cabin door opened again, this time slowly, and the Doctor stepped out. He closed the door behind him, and with arms folded around himself he moved around the side of the cabin to the back.
To the TARDIS.
The Doctor stood before his Ship as it sat dark and silent. Snow had accumulated on the roof, and had drifted up in to the edges of the wood panelling on its sides. He reached out a hand, gripping the door handle, and pushed inwards.
Nothing. The door did not move.
The Doctor gritted his teeth and tried opening the door with more force. Again, nothing happened. The Doctor moved his hand away from the door and back to the relative warmth of his body, resuming to wrap his arms around himself.
‘She is dying, you know,’ he said quietly, after a long silence.
Nothing.
‘I do not have any means of saving her here,’ he pleaded. ‘I can only do it if you let me back inside.’
Nothing.
‘Ruby will die,’ he said again, his voice barely audible.
Then, suddenly, he slapped his hand against the faux-wood of the TARDIS. ‘How can you just sit there? How can you just let her die like this? How can you refuse to help me?’ He paused. ‘We have been here for years… decades. A blink of an eye for a Time Lord, but not for Ruby. Surely you understand that? She is human!’ His voice choked, and the Doctor cleared his throat. ‘She is going to die,’ he said again.
The TARDIS sat like a tomb.
The Doctor slowly nodded, and made a sluggish return to the cabin.
*
‘Your majesty, I believe that I may have an answer to these murders,’ the Doctor said.
Ruby stood off to the side, observing the Doctor as he approached the throne of the King and Queen of Counterpane. She peeked around the room, eyes darting about as she looked for it.
The pure, white being. The monster that almost killed her.
Her mind raced back to the restaurant, to the horrible being standing over her, silently threatening to destroy her. Like it destroyed the waiter.
I was supposed to die, not him, she thought to herself. He tried to defend me, and look where it got him. Ruby turned her head and faced the Doctor again. And what if it was the Doctor who had tried to defend me? For a moment, Ruby felt relief. Then guilt swept over her. She realised that she was grateful that it was not the Doctor who had died after all. What then did that make the waiter? Was he so insignificant in the universe? Was it any more right for the waiter to have died than the Doctor? Of course, the waiter could not do the things the Doctor could - right the wrongs, defeat the evildoers, save lives. After all, the waiter had tried to save a life – her own.
He had been successful. Did that not put him on a par with the Doctor?
What if it had been the Doctor who had died?
More uncertain emotions ran through Ruby. She would have felt horribly guilty had the Doctor died attempting to save her, but she felt less guilty having the waiter sacrifice in attempting to save her. Normal people don’t feel that way, do they? she asked herself.
Then again, normal people don’t travel through time with a gentleman whose name is a profession, and inside a machine that is larger inside-than-out and in the shape of an old police box, Ruby thought.
Again she thought of home.
She pushed all of those thoughts to the back of her mind. Ruby concentrated on the Doctor as he spoke.
She could not help but admire how the Doctor handled himself in the presence of royalty. He was so comfortable, so at ease in dealing with the pomp and circumstance that these situations promoted. It was as if he fitted right in. As if he belonged.
Ruby tuned in again to the Doctor’s words. Her senses were assaulted by sudden murmurs moving through room like waves. Behind her, Ruby heard a robotic jester blow a fuse.
The King stomped his food hard on the throne floor. The sound resonated throughout the chamber. ‘Silence!’ he cried out.
The murmuring died away. Pfft! Another fuse blew out.
The King turned back to the Doctor. ‘Did I hear you correctly? Surely, what you speak of is nonsense!’
Ruby inwardly chided herself. Now I have to catch up.
The Doctor cleared his throat. ‘I can assure you, it is most certainly not “nonsense.” There is, indeed, a strange creature- a being of some sort- that is loose in Counterpane and has been committing these murders.’
The King turned his attention back to the Doctor. ‘What sort of being? How has he been killing his victims?’
The Doctor continued. ‘I believe that this being feeds purely on concepts. You could even call it a “concept addict.”’
Another murmur arose in the court. Another foot was stomped on the throne floor. Another fuse met its maker.
The Doctor cleared his throat. ‘This “Concept Addict” drains the conceptual knowledge of an item, idea, or belief from the victim by touch. This sudden shock at losing and not being able to comprehend said object causes a severe neural shock within the victim, thus killing them.’
Murmur. Stomp. Pfft!
‘But why do you call him – it - an addict?’ the Queen asked.
‘Well, your majesty, part of my working theory is that the being needs to feed on these concepts to sustain itself.’
‘Doctor, I must say this is a difficult story to believe.’
The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows, and looked around at the mimes and robotic jesters in the courtroom. He looked back at the King. ‘Yes, I can see how. But I can assure you, it is the closest I have come to a fully-fledged answer.’
‘Impressive nonetheless, Doctor,’ the Queen said.
The King glanced over the Queen, then back at the Doctor. ‘Yes, I must agree. You have done more than our most capable investigators. We honestly appreciate your work, Doctor.’
‘No need to thank me. But I do have a request.’
‘And what would that be, Doctor?’ the King asked.
‘More time. I need more time to get to the bottom of this.’
‘And you shall have it, Doctor.’ The King stood, as did the Queen. ‘Now, we shall take our leave from you.’
The King and Queen, surrounded by the Royal Guards, made their way to the heavy, golden double-doors in the back. The Doctor turned his attention back to Ruby as the golden doors closed with a loud thud.
‘You did magnificently,’ Ruby said, clapping lightly.
The Doctor smiled. ‘There is no need for praise. I am just doing my job.’ He paused for a moment. ‘But it is appreciated.’
‘What now, Doctor?’
‘That is the problem, Ruby,’ the Doctor said. ‘I just do not know.’
*
Gentle moonlight fell through the window, tracing shadows onto the floor. Across the room, the King and Queen lay in bed, asleep. Their breathing was slow, tender, filling the room with a calming hum. Over them, the green and gold of the bed’s canopy hung loose and grand, casting further darkness onto the regal couple. On the other side of the room, a pinch of light crept in from under the door.
Within the room, there was movement. A dripping white, coalescing on the floor from the ceiling. The white drowned out everything around it and within, defying the world and its senses as it grew, taking form, like a newborn from clay.
It was now complete.
Silently it moved over to stand beside the Royal bed; to stand over the prone form of the King himself.
The white being reached out its hand and placed it over the King’s mouth, stifling an horrific scream.
*
‘Get a doctor, now!’ the Queen cried out, pacing back and forth, as she wrung her hands.
The guards and aides looked at each other. There was a long pause, and finally, one of them gathered enough boldness to speak up.
‘Your majesty, I am afraid the King is dead,’ he said, voice trembling. ‘No doctor can help him now.’
The Queen’s eyes became daggers as she gazed at the aide. ‘How can you be so sure? Are you so quick to give up on the King?’
‘N-no, my lady. But, it is obvious-‘
‘Obvious?’ came the Queen’s voice.
‘The King has been dead for a while,’ the aide finished quickly. ‘He must have died during the night.’
The Queen’s mouth fell open, and then closed again. She turned around, facing the large window that looked down onto the gardens of the castle. After a few moments, she let out a scream, and collapsed to the floor.
The Queen’s aides rushed to her side, but just as quickly a voice boomed throughout the chamber.
‘Leave us for now,’ it said. Turning, the aides saw the figure of Koras, draped in his familiar dark cloak. They stared at him for a moment, held by his invisible gaze beneath the darkness of the hood. At last, he spoke. ‘Leave us. The Queen and I have important matters of state to discuss.’
Baylen, one of the King’s oldest and must-trusted aides, spoke up. ‘Koras, the Queen needs us right now. The King is dead, and now is not the time-‘
‘Now,’ boomed Koras’s voice again, visibly startling everyone, ‘is not the time to argue with me, Baylen. We are in a grave crisis. The Queen requires my wisdom in these matters.’ There was a pause, and then; ‘The King deemed it so.’
Baylen muttered something underneath his breath, and then took his leave. The other aides soon followed. Koras manoeuvred over to the door, shutting it behind the last aide to leave the room. He then turned towards the Queen, and as he did Koras reached up his sleeve and removed a small, round metal object. He stepped towards the Queen.
‘Your majesty, I am at your service.’
‘Koras,’ came the Queen’s voice, weak, distraught. Her face was low to the floor, prostrated in grief and agony. As she heard Koras’s steps moving towards her, she lifted herself up slowly. ‘My husband is gone from me.’ She tried to hold back a rush of tears.
‘Madam,’ Koras said, his voice like velvet. ‘We all grieve the loss of the King.’
‘Is it true?’ she asked.
Koras paused. ‘Is what true?’
‘That the King died… that he died at the hands of that horrible creature? When I awoke… I couldn’t bear to look at him. One moment… I just had to look at his eyes, look at the horrible contortion of his face.’ The Queen’s throat rattled, and she let out a short, desperate cry. She stifled it down just as quick, and then repeated in a low voice, ‘Is it true?’
Koras coughed. ‘I am afraid it is, ma’am.’
The Queen lifted her head up, looking at the view through the lavish windows, onto the sun-soaked hills beyond. She noticed Koras beside her, almost in an instant, and when she fully turned her head, she was gazing into what appeared to be a small mirror in Koras’s hand. It was circular in shape, rounded with a gold frame that contained several minute carvings. The Queen squinted her eyes to get a good look into the mirror, when she noticed that she could only see a vague impression of her reflection. The mirror began to glow with a subtle blue hue.
‘Koras,’ she said, ‘what is this?’
‘Peace, my lady,’ he said. ‘Sweet, gentle peace.’
The Queen opened her mouth to speak, but found no words available. Her eyes were fixed on the subtle glow of the mirror, her breathing altering.
‘You,’ Koras began, ‘will now obey your new master…’
*
‘Back so early, though?’ Ruby said quietly, whispering from behind the Doctor as they stood before the throne. It was early in the morning, and Ruby was a little annoyed that she had not had the opportunity to get a proper breakfast before being rushed to the throne room. Apparently, the Queen wanted to see the Doctor about something.
Which did not sit well with Ruby.
‘So, you’re not even the least bit concerned?’ she asked.
The Doctor did not turn around. ‘No, not at all. Why should I be?’
Ruby began to worry even more.
The Queen entered the throne room, accompanied by her usual entourage. Her face was pale, tired. Ruby stepped forward to stand beside the Doctor, and when she looked at the Doctor’s face she could see he shared the same concerns. The Queen walked up the steps to her throne, and quickly sat down. Her icy stare fell upon the Doctor.
‘Oh, this cannot be good,’ the Doctor whispered. Ruby instinctively stepped back.
‘Doctor,’ the Queen said. Her voice was drained of any colour or passion.
‘Yes, my lady?’
‘The King is dead.’
An uproar arose in the chamber. Several mimes began to openly weep, and a robot jester immediately headed for a second-story window.
‘And you!’ the Queen cried, standing and pointing at the Doctor. ‘You killed him!’
Ruby tried her best not to wince at the melodrama.
A look of shock painted itself on to the Doctor’s face. ‘Me?’ he gasped. ‘I beg your majesty’s indulgence, but with respect you are mistaken.’
‘Since you appeared, our beloved Counterpane has been under assault from this Concept Addict of yours. Lives have been lost, and you have been attempting to thwart the construction of our Tower, which symbolises everything we believe in!’
‘But, Ma’am, I can assure you-‘
‘You can assure me of nothing! We know of your lies and deceit. If only we had seen through your web, my beloved husband could still be here!’
The Doctor stepped forward. ‘I can assure you, Madam, I did not kill the King! Let me help you-‘
‘No! You’ve “helped” us enough, Doctor.’
Ruby stepped forward, nudging the Doctor on the elbow. ‘Doctor, now might be the right time to get out of here!’ she whispered.
The Doctor turned around and was about to respond, when the guards assailed him. Five men jumped on the Doctor, pulling him to the ground, grabbing his arms and twisting them around his back.
‘Is this really necessary?’ the Doctor said through gritted teeth.
Ruby stepped forward, and as she did a guard turned and backhanded her. Ruby flew across the throne room, losing her grip on her book. She hit the ground hard, slamming the back of her head on the floor.
‘Take them away!’ the Queen cried. ‘They are to be executed without delay!’
End of Episode Two
Starring:
ANTHONY STEWART HEAD as The Doctor
DAWN FRENCH as Ruby Mundy
Guest Stars:
WILLIAM ADLER as Heinlen NOAH WYLE as Waiter
RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH as King of Counterpane
FRANCES CONROY as Queen of Counterpane DEREK JACOBI as Koras
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