in her absence page 3

As she did, a small group rounded the bend just up the road from where Vastra had stood.  Where previous groups had numbered in the dozens, this group counted only nine people. They were silent as well, while the larger groups talked amongst themselves.  They also wore armour, very similar in design to that worn by the guards and soldiers back at the city. The armour was lacquered black, gleaming brightly despite the inky blackness of the plates.  They marched in two rows of four, with a single individual walking alone at the rear.

Without a word, they suddenly stopped in the middle of the road.  The man at the back, taller by at least a head, broke off and headed toward the edge of the road that led toward where Vastra had stepped back onto the road.  He bent down and picked up a handful of dirt, allowing it to pass through slightly opened fingers encased in gleaming black metal.

Moments passed inexorably slowly until finally he turned back to his regiment and they continued up the road toward the city.

~~~

Vastra reached the city gates just as the sun touched the western horizon.  There were far more people here than when she left, dressed in countless variants of the same basic dress.  Obviously they are all from different tribes, she thought to herself, all ruled by one King.  A powerful man he must have been…more powerful than I first thought.  She walked among them, not noticing their wide eyed looks and hushed words as she passed.  She briskly walked back toward the main hall, and had just reached the top step when a familiar voice stopped her.

‘Enjoy your swim, Vastra?’

She turned and saw the Doctor, leaning up against a wall, a small smirk on his face.

‘Oh…yes.  Yes, it was quite nice.  Please thank your friend for recommending that place.’

The Doctor pushed off the wall, the smirk not leaving his face.

‘What did you see?’

She looked at him, her eyes curious.

‘I beg your pardon?  What do you think I saw?  I saw water, and flowers, and the birds flying around…it really was a lovely pool.  It reminded me so much of some of the hot springs I swam in when I was younger.’

‘What about the statues?’

Vastra paused.  He knows.  How does he know?

This was quickly followed by, of course he knows.  How could he not know?

‘They were…interesting.  Would you care to explain at least one of them to me, Doctor?’

The Doctor’s smile widened.

‘In fact, Doctor, would you perhaps care to explain a number of things for me?  It seems every time I turn around I have more questions than I have answers.  And it is not that it is a difficult position to be in, considering that I have no answers and a great many questions that require those non-existent answers.’

His smile dropped, just a little.

‘I could do that.  Or…’

She swallowed and took a breath.  ‘Or?’

‘Or…’

He paused, thinking.

‘Or you really didn’t go swimming at all, and decided to take it on yourself to go see what fell from the sky, possibly putting yourself in huge danger if it was in fact something…dangerous.’

He made motions with his hand as if working out something in his head.

‘Oh, that kind of got away from me a bit, didn’t it?’

‘Doctor, I…’

He reached out and put a hand over her mouth.  ‘Hush.  Thinking.  What was I thinking?  Oh yes…I was asking if you went to see if you could find what fell.  Did you?  What did you find?’

She made a muffled noise.

‘What was that?’

Again she tried to speak, but all that came out was a muffled noise, albeit louder this time, and more frustrated.

‘What? Oh!’

He took his hand off her mouth.

‘Sorry…got carried away there.  Anyway…what did you see?’

‘I saw many groups of travellers heading here.  When I heard them coming, I got off the road to make sure I did not draw any attention.’

‘Good idea,’ said the Doctor.  ‘After all, it’s possible not all would be as…enlightened as the citizens here.’

Vastra nodded.  ‘Most of them came in groups of twenty or thirty or more, families I would guess, or people from a small camp or village.  They talked quietly amongst themselves, but I did not hear much of what they said.’

He looked at her carefully.  ‘Anything else?’

She paused, took a deep breath, and decided to try once again.  She thought if she used shorter sentences she might be able to keep his attention more easily.

‘And then I went swimming, at the lake.  And I saw a statue, in a building on an island.  And it happened to look like someone we both know.  And we have in fact established this fact, which you seem bound and determined to avoid in lieu of other lines of discussion, and I for one would like to know why!’

He waved his hands dismissively, while his voice dripped annoyance.  ‘Yes, yes, I know all about that…but I’m talking about important things, big things; big, important things.’

Vastra sighed.  Obviously he was not going to address any of this.  ‘No, Doctor.  I did not see a single thing that seemed out of place.  Should I have?’

The Doctor nodded absently.  ‘Possibly, possibly not.  I can’t help but think we’re missing something.’

She looked at the Doctor warily.  ‘Tell me why you are so curious, Doctor.  And tell me why you refuse to answer my questions.’

He looked around, and quickly grabbed Vastra by the sleeve.  He pulled her toward a shadow, where they’d be out of sight and out of hearing range from any passers-by.

‘Vastra, I never just end up going places out of sheer dumb luck.  I always seem to end up showing up in a place when something big and important is about to happen.  And think about it…the king has just died, and his only son is about to take the throne.’

He paused, waiting for his words to sink in.

‘If there was any better time to throw the kingdom into chaos, I can’t think of it.  Can you?’

Vastra shook her head.  She let go of her frustration for a moment, as what the Doctor said made sense.

‘Have you shared your worry with the King’s advisors?’

The Doctor nodded.  ‘They’re aware, yes.  They have the same concerns I do.  And they’ll have soldiers positioned to protect the Prince as best as possible.’

‘Yet you still worry.’

He nodded again.  ‘Anything can be a temporal tipping point, and a nudge here or a push there…one thread falls out of place, and all of history can be rewritten.  So yes…I always worry, Vastra.  It comes with the job.’

Vastra laughed.  ‘You talk as if you have some kind of control over time!’

The Doctor’s solemn look cut her laugh short.

I did…once.  Or rather, my people did.’

He paused.

‘But that’s a long time ago now.  All I can do now is to try and make sure things remain as they should.’

Vastra’s eyes narrowed.  ‘There is much about you I wish to know, Doctor.’

He nodded.  ‘And maybe once all this is passed, we’ll have time.  Time…’

The Doctor laughed.

‘Nine hundred and seven years, and I never have enough time.’

Her eyes widened at his statement.  ‘Nine hundred and…’

‘Not now.  Later.’

Vastra opened her mouth to argue, but saw it was a futile task.

‘I promise you, Vastra….assuming we figure out what is going on here, and assuming that we’re able to put a stop to whatever might happen, and assuming once all of that is said and done we’re both standing, I’ll tell you everything.  But for now…’

He paused, took in a deep breath, and then continued as if there had been no break.

‘For now we’ll go eat with the Prince, and after dinner I’ll show you what I learned today on the sanshin.  I think I finally learned how to hold it right!’

Vastra shook her head in frustration and followed the Doctor out of the shadow and toward the main hall, into its warm, welcoming light.

He is right, she said to herself, much as I loathe admitting that.  So much can happen tomorrow, and I suppose it would behove us to be prepared for any eventuality.  Perhaps he will even surprise me with this musical instrument he is so obsessed with…but by the sound of it, I will not get my hopes up.

~~~

The morning of the funeral dawned darkly.

Vastra opened her eyes, uncertain if it was actually dawn.  The quiet murmur of activity seemed to point in that direction, but a quick look out the window offered a sky filled with dark layered clouds.  A light breeze blew, and on a sunny day it might have offered respite, but matched with the overcast day, it felt far less accommodating.  She shivered slightly, wrapping the sheet she’d been covered in more tightly around her.

She had no idea what the schedule was for the day, but there didn’t seem to me much time to waste.  She grabbed her robes and started to dress, then stopped.  She thought about how nervous the Doctor had seemed, and how unlike him that was.  Even in the short time she’d been traveling with him, he always seemed confident, in control, almost a step ahead of whatever was going on around him.  Last night, even at dinner, he seemed preoccupied, his mind perhaps hundreds of miles away…or hundreds of years away, if his announced age were actually true.  This did not seem to be some kind of act put on to impress…he seemed well and truly worried that something was going to happen.  And if something did, then she was going to be ready for it.  It was impossible to assume that no one would just drop in on her, but most people did seem to have the courtesy of knocking before intruding, and so she pulled her robes back off, instead donning her more familiar and comfortable light armour.  She pulled the robes back around her and looked in a mirror on the wall.

‘Can hardly tell the armour is under there,’ she whispered, and proceeded to tie her sash off around her waist.

She walked out into the hall and saw the Doctor waiting for her, as usual.

‘Have you been waiting there long?’ she asked, her voice quiet.

‘No, not terribly.  In fact, I was just coming back to make sure you were awake.  The rites will be starting soon.’

‘Oh…alright,’ she replied.  ‘Then I suppose we should join the others.’

‘Indeed we should,’ the Doctor replied.  He turned, took a few steps, and then stopped.

Vastra nearly ran into him as he turned to face her.

‘Are you alright?’ he asked, his face suddenly filled with concern.

‘Yes.  Fine.’

His eyes narrowed.

‘Vastra…what’s wrong?’

‘Nothing,’ she replied, more quickly than she had perhaps intended.  The Doctor reached out to assure her, but she recoiled slightly, staying out of his reach.

‘I said I was fine.’

The Doctor’s face showed his hurt, and Vastra felt it too.  She did not know how he would react to her decision to wear her armour, but if he was correct in his fears, her worries would be moot.  If he were incorrect, well…she’d deal with that when the time came.

He pulled his hand back.  ‘I suppose this is all about yesterday then?’

She nodded her head, again almost too quickly.  ‘Yes.  I suppose that is it.’

That response at least brought back some semblance of a smile to his face.  ‘Well, I suppose I deserve that.  But a promise is a promise, Vastra…and I’m sure once all of this is done, you and I can find the time to sit down and I can explain some things to you.’

He paused.

‘I should warn you…it is a long story.’

She smiled.  “That is quite fine, Doctor.  You will find I have a rather good attention span.’

The Doctor’s smile widened.  ‘That’s settled then.’

He looked down at his watch.

‘And we really should get going…they should be starting any moment now.  It wouldn’t be polite to be late.’

‘What about food?  Breakfast, I believe was what you called it?’

The Doctor shook his head.

‘Not today.  Today will be fasting, in honour of the deceased.  I hope you ate your fill, because there won’t be a thing to eat until tomorrow morning.’

Vastra’s stomach growled in protest.  She hoped the Doctor hadn’t heard, but his quiet laugh dashed that hope before it even fully formed.

‘I feel the same way.’

He offered his hand, and she took it without pause.

‘Come on…it’s time to say a final farewell to King Eisō.’

How odd this is, walking together with a human like this, she thought to herself.  How much have I changed?  And how much more will I change because of this man?

Hand in hand, they walked out to the courtyard as the funeral began.

~~~

Vastra wasn’t sure what to expect, but what she saw was beyond even her wildest imaginings.

While the courtyard seemed a bustle of activity, filled with people, when they first arrived, she now wondered how anyone could possibly move in that space.  Thousands kneeled, all dressed in black with plain white shirts beneath their robes.  Here and there she saw tall, vertical flags, which she presumed were markers showing where one group had come from.  A tall wooden pyre had been erected at the center of the courtyard, and she could see a body wrapped in ornate robes atop it.

That must be Eisō, she thought to herself.

She looked over at the Doctor, who seemed every bit as amazed as she was. ‘You seem surprised, Doctor,’ she whispered.

He nodded.  ‘I’ve never seen anything like this, and that is actually saying something.  It’s a memory I’m sure I’ll keep for a very long time.’

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