It was your fairly average day in the TARDIS. The Doctor and Romana were continuing their quest for the Key to Time, a mysterious artifact with tremendous power, for reasons they both weren't quite sure of. So far, their journey had taken them to the planets Ribos, Earth, and the parasite planet Zanak where they had discovered a dastardly plan to shrink planets and steal their precious resources. After quite the stand off between the Doctor and a grossly old alien ruler, the Doctor and Romana had set off once again - leaving Zanak to remain in one spot.
Now, as they travel in the TARDIS, The Doctor was moping on how their 'mission' was making them forget the important things in life! Like having fun and righting wrongs! of course, they had done both of those things on their journey so far; but the Doctor just didn't like the idea of someone telling him what to do. This made things between the Doctor and Romana slightly strained, as she was the sort that liked to get things done.
Romana was currently somewhere deep in the TARDIS corridors, putting on her outfit of the day, and so the Doctor was making himself busy by setting the coordinates for their next destination. Even though he would rather be playing chess with K-9. The funny thing about time passing in the TARDIS, is that the Doctor was never sure just how much time had passed. It could have been weeks that Romana was taking to get ready, though that would be very out of character for her.
The Doctor briefly considered going looking for her but just as the TARDIS bleeped out the coordinates for the next leg of their adventure, Romana had entered the console room. So it hadn't been weeks, merely minutes. The Doctor sighed, and sauntered over to read out the location they have just arrived at. Taking a look at the coordinates, The Doctor let out a bellowing laugh, for maybe this won't be as bad as he thought after all.
Once again, their journey was taking them to Earth. Though, not to the United Kingdom as per usual; instead they were heading towards a small town in...what looks to be the middle of nowhere. It was located somewhere within the United States, but the readout had quite a few weird indicators that really should have alarmed any other sensible Gallifreyan. The Doctor was not a sensible Gallifreyan, and marvelled excitedly.
"Where are we headed?" Romana asked, walking up to the console and checking the various buttons and switches.
"Oh, you know, just a small town in the United States; dreadful little place to be honest! Nothing like London! But still, you're in for a treat Romana! You'll love it! it's been, oh about…fifty or so years since I've been…but it should be terribly fun anyways!" he looks up from his place at the console and smiles a big toothy grin at Romana.
"There seems to be a lot of psychic distortion in the area, do you think it's safe?" Romana looked at the Doctor and raised her eyebrow.
She did have a basic running knowledge of Earth, and in her researching she had come to discover that some places were not the most stable - politically, and economically. The United States seemed to be a dreadfully backward place in her mind, but she decides that until she sees it for herself she had no right to make any rash judgements.
"It is very odd, but I wouldn't worry too much about it! It will be fun nonetheless" He tried to reassure her, but his bulging eyes and toothy grin did nothing to put Romana at ease. It just made her brace herself and wonder - worryingly - what will probably go wrong.
But focusing on what will most definitely go wrong was never a good idea, so instead Romana decided to focus on her current outfit of the day. It was quite lovely and she admired her own exquisite taste in clothing.
She had paired an oxblood coloured skirt with a dark blouse, a belt at the waist, a sturdy pair of boots, with a lovely floppy hat so that the look was quite fashionable and clean cut. The fabric was so soft under her fingertips that she almost shivered when she found it in the TARDIS wardrobes.
The TARDIS had finished its materializing and, upon exiting Romana gasped at the sight before her. They had landed on the edge of a town, which was bordering on a massive forest. All around it was green and mossy, save for the grey stone and brick of the buildings. The town had an eerie charm to it that both unnerved Romana, and put her at ease.
The main strip of the town was comprised of an odd assortment of shops including "Melora's Crystal Emporium", a grocery store, an occult shop with a sign out front that read "We have Necromancy supplies", and what looked like a bookstore. Beside her, Romana could see that the Doctor still had that ridiculously wide toothy grin on his face that just screamed I'm here to make mischief. He let out a loud laugh.
"I told you you were in for a treat!" he grins back at her, and Romana can feel herself questioning his sanity.
She wonders exactly why humans would believe in such things as magic, for it had barely any scientific basis to it. However, her curiosity is piqued and with a vague interest, she wonders exactly how they perform their 'magic'.
"How exactly does it work?" she asks, looking up at the Doctor, who was still grinning like a child in a candy store.
In a flash, she sees him switch from that goggle eyed look into full lecture mode.
"Well you see, from an anthropological standpoint, what humans define as 'magic' and 'witchcraft' derived from local folk traditions. Those folk traditions eventually led to a sort of mythos; which in turn, led to something or other what is now known as the general 'occult'…i once met a peculiar man by the name of Crowley who was deep into this sort of practice…" he trailed off into the exploits of this mysterious Crowley, whom apparently created an organisation known as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn; as Romana would later find out.
It is a strange experience, Romana muses. Humans seem so insignificant from a Gallifreyan standpoint, and yet she finds herself entranced at the idea of being so simple…living life without the burdens of being a Time Lord, and a Gallifreyan hanging over her. But at the same time, she enjoys her place in life. She is a Time Lord.
Romana finds herself zoning out from the Doctor's lecture, and zoning into her time sense. She feels the ebb and flow of time swirling around her, diving into it like a swimming pool of possibilities and timelines engulfing her with their everlasting comfort and familiarity. Along with that...slightly odd resonance surrounding the town.
They begin walking, and soon they find themselves in front of a cafe. The Doctor mentions how he would one day like to take her to Paris for a holiday, Romana has no idea where or what Paris even is, but she decides that if the Doctor was there then it would be wonderful.
"Paris is the only place in the world where you can really enjoy yourself…It's the city of love" he smiles at her again, not the bug eyed, maniacal smile from before; but a softer, more gentle smile that she finds she enjoys more. She's been travelling with the Doctor for quite a while, and yet; this new sudden emotion running through her is completely new.
They linger on each other for a moment, their eyes meeting for a second more than usual. A scream in the distance breaks them from this odd, and certainly rare moment. The Doctor is the first to break eye contact, looking towards the source of the scream.
A little ways down the street, there is a woman lying on the ground. She is the source of the screaming, and the Doctor and Romana both rush to the scene. When they get there, a small circle of bystanders appears to have gathered around the prone woman; yet none seem to be doing anything to help her. All they do is watch in resigned horror.
"I wonder what's gotten to her?" The Doctor's eyes boggle at the sight, and he makes a face at Romana.
The woman on the ground begins to convulse, her eyes lighting up an eerie lowly blue. A mark appears on her forehead.
"Happens all the time, mostly nearing the full moon. You're new here aren't you?" she looks at Romana with what can only be described as a sympathetic look.
"What do you mean the full moon?" The Doctor barges in. Romana takes a moment to consider the information she was just given; what must have happened to make this a normal occurrence in this town?
"Well, the people here aren't what you would call normal. A lot are into some really weird shit. Like witchcraft and stuff. I'm a tarot reader, but I prefer stitchomancy to the cards y'know - most of the times the books are less sassy than the cards. Mostly anyways." the woman smiles.
"I'm Mephi Saint O'Pheles, but you can call me Beq" she extends her hand, and Romana shakes it
"And I'm Romanadvoratrelundar, but you can call me Romana; would you like a jelly baby?" Romana holds out the bag that she took from the Doctor's pocket, and Beq takes one.
"Damn that's quite the name, no offense. At least it's one of a kind, i don't think i'm very likely to forget it and i'm terrible with names. But anyways, what even led you guys to coming here? Weird choice for any tourist, to say the least."
"We were here to look for something…" Romana begins to say, but holds her tongue. Most humans wouldn't know about the Key To Time, much less comprehend the entire cosmos in the balance.
The woman on the street throws up a snake, and gets up with the help of one of the bystanders. Seemingly okay after the harrowing experience they had all just witnessed, She wipes a bit of drool off her face, and thanks them for their help. The snake slithers off, unaware of anything and oblivious to the fact that they were just expelled from someone's mouth.
"I own the bookstore, by the way. Stop by anytime! We're having a tea night tomorrow at Val's shop if you'd like to come?"
"Is that the one with the necromancy sign out front?" Romana asks, genuinely curious.
She didn't know exactly how humans performed necromancy, but was more than willing to learn first hand; for the experience of it. Ever since Romana had left Gallifrey, her thirst of knowledge had more often than not led her to strange parts of the TARDIS library; She had read tombs upon tombs of ancient volumes on history, and whatever else she would find that caught her eye.
"Yeah, that's the one! Don't let the sign scare you away though, Val's pretty rad; they know a lot about blood magic and have actually done some pretty awesome stuff"
Beq stares at the Doctor for a moment, who was currently examining and talking to the snake as if it were a great old friend of his. The look on her face is one of amusement.
"Do you know them well?" Romana asks.
"Oh yeah, we moved down here together along with a few of our other friends; even got our friend Morgan to come down from England"
They talk for a bit on various topics, until Beq tells them that she had better get back to her shop. Romana considers taking her offer on tea night, for it couldn't hurt at all and may offer a bit of information to the whereabouts of the fourth segment to the Key to Time. They say their goodbyes, and then Beq is gone and it is just Romana and the Doctor left.
"Romana, I think this town may just be my new favourite place on Earth!" The Doctor exclaims, looking like he might just burst at the seams from excitement.
After a few hours of searching, and the tracer showing no signs of where the segment would be located; the duo decided that the best course of action was to explore the town a bit more, and possibly the surrounding forest. Romana ponders on the new information she had discovered, wandering on the marvels of humanity.
She had seen some interesting things while on the moors of England, but this experience was something different. She found that the energy here was almost intoxicating, wrapping her in a strange blanket of comfort that she had never felt anywhere else besides Gallifrey and the TARDIS.
The Doctor, it seemed was also entranced with this strange, small town. For the hours that they had roamed, he had babbled on about how everything here was so fresh and vibrant; and waxed on how humans were such interesting creatures. Romana had asked him if he believed in the transmundane, and he had responded:
"Technically we are transmundane Romana!" she took that as a yes.
They had wandered into the forest at that point, and the trees almost spoke to them in their majesty. There were barely any trees on the moors, but here they had clustered and grown to such magnificent heights; towering over the Doctor and Romana and conveying so much ancient wisdom and grandeur that both were left breathless. The energy of the forest was electrifying in its simplicity, swirling in a way that was almost tangible for both Time Lords to feel.
The evening descends upon the forest a lot quicker than the two of them realise, and in a moment of foolishness the Doctor suggests that they should split up to look for the segment. Romana cheerfully agreed, if only to clear her mind for a while. The forest loomed on ahead of her almost as if it was calling her. But, Romana didn't believe in such superstitions; so she ignored that feeling, proceeding on wards in the direction opposite of the Doctor.
As she continues walking, the distance between herself and the Doctor growing further and further apart; the sensation of the forest being a liminal space growing more discomforting in between the fleeting moments of the sun's descent beyond the horizon. The forest sings to her, in ways that she has never experienced before in her short life. Her time sense is slightly skewed and for a moment Romana wonders if time is moving slower, and quicker at the same time; perhaps it has stopped all together.
The forest is alive, and can sense the presence of the two Time Lords. And as such, it knows as the forest does. The forest is what has drawn many to live here, for it breathes and it understands in ways that even Time Lords cannot comprehend. She looks at her wanderers in a loving way, and in the way the forest works she guides the two Time Lords to their goals. Not quite in the way they'd expect though.
She guides the younger of the two towards the chanting huntresses of the night, the Witches. The forest has been home to many supernatural beings in the course of the years, but of all them; the Witches are her favourite. The way they respect her as if they somehow know she is sentient, leaving offerings of apples, berries, and little spectacles of ritual that leave her feeling so very warm. Yes, the Witches are her favourite. They will guide the young one well. She will learn.
As if in a trance, Romana finds herself being drawn towards the scent of thick incense, fire crackling in the distance brightening up like a star up ahead. The soft earth squelching beneath her gently as she moves silently through the brush, scraping her ankles and collecting burs on the fabric of her skirt. As she moves closer, she can hear soft chanting getting ever so slightly louder as she moves forwards.
They know she is coming. They can feel it in the earth, and they make their preparations accordingly. The fire glows and swirls with teal, blue, and red flames; glistening up and sending sparks flaring into the night. The incense burns, an offering to the forest as a plea to send their intent into the wind. The forest sings in her approval as she sends her tumbling on wards towards her fate.
The forest smiles. The Gallifreyan child makes her way into the clearing. The Witches sing the invocation, and begin floating; their wild hair flowing out into the wind swirling around them. Romana's eyes widen, and dilate.
In a succession of moments, her breath quickens; hearts racing in her chest. The Witches dance ecstatically. The energy flows around them, asserting itself and yet under the complete control of its wielders. Belladonna and henbane race through enchanted veins, sending them tumbling into oblivion.
In a split second, the Witches land. She moves on autopilot as they beckon her forewords, welcoming. She is completely aware that humans attaining flight like that really shouldn't be possible. And yet, she somehow knows these people aren't quite human themselves.
In the instant it takes for someone to do something, Romana knows exactly what she is doing, and she accepts. She recognises Beqs' face among the Witches, and somehow she isn't surprised.
She moves forwards, and outstretches her hands.
"I knew it" is all she says, and Romana wonders if she is being cryptic on purpose.
Another moves forwards, looking at Beq. "She looks exactly like how you described her" they are quite tall, and have their hair styled into a neat undercut.
"Look I know I'm not that great at remembering details, but you don't have to sound so shocked that I remembered what a person looked like Mels."
"Yeah, well I wouldn't have known what to expect, I can't see how everyone looks with tarot cards"
"That's because your cards are too sassy for their own good, Mel's"
"WELL IT'S NOT MY FAULT THAT SOMEONE HASN'T DONE THEIR LESSON ON SCRYING YET"
"She doesn't even KNOW she can scry, you gotta be patient"
The two begin squabbling for a bit, leaving Romana and the other Witches in a state of confused awe. It is only when one of the other Witches clears their throat quite loudly that they stop. They all look like they're on the verge of laughter. It is only when they realise they still have an incredibly confused Time Lord in front of them that they all assume a serious post once more. The mischievous twinkle remains in their eyes.
"I don't mean to intrude, Beq; but I believe I may need a bit of clarification on what exactly is happening?" Romana says finally, resuming her constant look of indifferent Time Lord seriousness.
"Well, that depends…do you want the long version or the short version?" Beq replies.
"Short version, although; I may need the longer version depending on the circumstance"
"Oh well, basically, you showing up here was foretold, or well, foreseen by Mels here, "and we need your help, but it's fine because you also need our help." She points at Melora, and Melora shrugs in response.
"So, do you like coffee?"