AN: Sooo... this certainly took a while, so first: I am so sorry. I never meant for it to take so long between uploading the preview chapter and the actual story to be uploaded.

I have made a few changes; those of you who haven't read this before, will have nothing to be confused about, however for those of you who read the preview chapter; I have decided to change the point in time this takes place - originally it was meant to be before the Ponds' exit, however I've moved it back a bit so that now, in stead, it takes place, when Clara is the companion. Which conveniently brings me to the next point; the OC-companion (Isabella Tallis) of the Doctor I had in the preview chapter, has been replaced by Clara. I only ever mentioned her in the preview, so it shouldn't mean too much.

Mmmh.. so anyway, I had a bit of trouble with the prologue; I needed to introduce my 'main character' whilst explaining her back-story in the Whoniverse. I think I made about 6-8 drafts before settling on this. It contains a bit of the original draft (the first bit) as well as a few other draft-bits, however the 2nd part (out of the four I've split the prologue into) is completely new, and an addition I am very happy with.

Aaanyway, onwards to the story. I've put a note at the bottom as well, to explain any confusing points in the chapter.

Hope you enjoy. =)

~ PROLOGUE ~

Once Upon a Time... in Cardiff

On a bench in Cardiff sat a young woman. To the eyes of a human she looked to be no more than 25-26 years old, but in fact she was older.. much, much older. This woman was a Time Lady – the last Time Lady of Gallifrey in fact, though she was not yet aware of that being the case herself.

For years she had been stranded on Earth, desperate to track down another Time Lord, who might be able to give her a ride back to Gallifrey.. or at least just away from this godforsaken place. As much as she enjoyed visiting Earth, staying there for years – decades – had never been part of her plan; she had wanted to travel the universe – time and space – maybe even by herself in her very own TARDIS at some point, however things had not turned out that way.

She had spend a great deal of time trying to figure out where the place with the biggest chance of meeting a fellow Time Lord would be; her conclusion had been Cardiff, Wales, because the city played host to a giant rift – a rift through time itself – so she figured someone was bound to turn up eventually, even if Cardiff itself was not the most exciting place to be stuck.

So there she waited.

oOo

"Hello," someone said, right next to her.

Ailla looked up, to find a young woman with very blonde hair smiling at her, "ehm.. hello?" She said, confused as she'd never met he woman before.

"Ailla right?" The blonde asked with a smile.

"Yeah.." Ailla answered with hesitation. "Sorry, but have we met before?"

The blonde looked around at the passing people, "not yet..." she answered, before her gaze shifted back to meet Ailla's questioning eyes, "but we will."

Ailla was about to ask what she meant, when suddenly the blonde leaped up from her seat and clapped her hands together, "now, we need to get going." She stated.

"What? We? Where?" Ailla asked. "I don't even know who you are!"

The blonde, who had already been about to walk away looked back down at Ailla, "Oh, sorry.. you may call me Isabella, if you'd like." She said with a smile. "Now, come along, we need to hurry!"

Ailla hesitated for a moment before she got up from the bench and followed Isabella.

"Where exactly are we going?" She asked, as she caught up to the blonde.

"Not far." Isabella answered cryptically.

"Care to elaborated on that?" Ailla asked her.

"Well.. let's just say, you've got somewhere to be. Mustn't be late." She answered teasingly, only causing Ailla to be even more confused.

The two walked on for a bit in complete silence, before Ailla came to a sudden stop.

"No.. no, I'm not doing this – whatever this is – until you give me some answers!" She informed Isabella.

The blonde stopped at turned back to Ailla. "I'm an open book – what do you want to know?" She asked her.

"Who are you?" Ailla asked.

"Mmmh.. sorry, can't tell you that." Isabella answered.

"What?" Ailla cried out. "You just said you were an open book!"

Isabella sighed. "I am.. but to a certain extend. I can't tell you anything that might change the past.. well the future, from your point of view." She explained.

"Oh.. so you are from the future.. my future." Ailla asked, feeling slightly less confused.

The blonde grinned at the almost-statement, "oh, yes. I am very much someone from your future."

"OK, good." Ailla said, visibly calming down. "So what can you tell me? Where are we going?"

Isabella turned on the spot and started to walk on, waving for Ailla to come along as well. "I suppose telling you shouldn't be an issue." She paused for a bit, "I'm taking you to a TARDIS."

Ailla's face lit up: "A TARDIS? Really?"

"Yup." Isabella said, popping the 'p'.

"Whose?" Ailla asked excitedly. "Anyone I know?"

"Well.. sort of.. certainly someone you've met." The blonde answered.

"Who?"

"The Doctor." Isabella stated.

Ailla stopped walking. "The Doctor?"

Isabella looked back at her. "Yeah.. now come or you won't be there in time, before he leaves."

"But the Doctor... there's no way he'll want to take me along. He's sort of the reason I'm stuck here." Ailla explained.

"Oh, I know all about your previous encounter.. now hurry up!" Isabella said more firmly this time.

"But.. but.."

"Stop fussing, I promise you he'll have no problem taking you with him – I'm from the future, remember?!" Isabella said with a smile.

"Right."

They walked for another few minutes, before Isabella stopped once again.

"What?" Ailla asked confused.

Isabella smiled at her. "This is where we part ways. Just go down to the Roald Dahl Plass, and you'll see the Doctor's TARDIS – it hasn't changed since the last time you saw it, so you won't miss it."

"Ehm, okay.." Ailla muttered. "And.. you're sure he'll take me with him?"

"Of course he will. Just be honest with him and he won't hesitate to bring you along." Isabella said with a smile.

"OK." Ailla took a deep breath. "Here we go. Wish me luck."

Isabella grinned. "Trust me, you won't need it."

And with that the two newly acquainted females parted ways again.

As she crossed the Roald Dahl Plass, Ailla couldn't help but wonder who Isabella was to her, in the future: Simply a friend? Or a family member, even? For a moment she considered the possibility that she might be a foe of some kind, who was merely mocking her, by promising the Doctor would bring her with him, only to see him shutting the TARDIS door in her face, and flying off without her. She quickly pushed the idea out of her head, and tried to focus on keeping her head cool and calm her nerves, as she approached the blue phone box standing across the square; the last thing she wanted was to start rambling on, as she normally did, when she was nervous.

oOo

The Doctor was standing by the TARDIS, his gaze shifting between his wrist watch and the chips shop Clara had gone into a few minutes ago – though for the Doctor it felt like he'd been waiting for hours on end.

"Hello Doctor!" A strange woman said excitedly, as she stood a few feet away from him.

"Ehm.. hello." The Doctor replied, obvious confusion written on his face.

"Oh, of course.. you don't recognize me!" She exclaimed, "I mean why would you; I've changed and it was so long ago – a lifetime in fact.. well two– three actually – at least considering you've regenerated since too. I suppose for you it could have been thousands of years, so I can't really blame you for not recognizing me, can I?" She'd started rambling and the Doctor could barely keep up with what she was saying – which said a lot as the Doctor himself was quite theramble-on'er.

"Wait – hang on just a moment." The Doctor told her firmly, and the stranger stopped talking. "You've met me before? In an earlier incarnation."

"Well, yeah, that is what I just said – were you not paying attention?" She asked. "I believe the last time we met, you were on your.. second incarnation; kind of short, dark hair, deep frown, yeah?"

"Yes, yes, that was my second incarnation, but.. I'm really sorry, I just don't seem to be able to place you." The Doctor told her somewhat embarrassed, as he scratched the site of his head and tried to recall her face.

"Well, you wouldn't, would you? After all I've regenerated too, since you last saw me. Twice, in fact." She said cheekily.

"Regenerated? What do you mean you've regenerated?!" The Doctor asked, suddenly his face had gone much paler.

"Oh, come on, Doctor – guess! Who do you think I am?" She asked him, obviously much more amused than the Doctor was.

"I'm not playing games here – tell me who you are!" The Doctor told her firmly.

"My, my.. not much fun in this incarnation, are you? Not even a guess?" She asked him, but could tell from his expression that the answer was still 'no'. "It's me.. Ailla. Remember? I used to travel with Koschei.."

"Ai...Ailla? Oh.. oh, of course. I'd never even considered that you might.." The Doctor started mumbling incoherently, mostly to himself.

"Do I get a hug?" Ailla asked and flashed him a big smile.

"Of course you do – come here!" The Doctor told her and opened his arms towards her. "I'm so glad to see you!" He said, as he gathered her in his arms.

"Likewise!" She said with her face buried in his shoulder.

When they finally released one another, Ailla took a step back. For a few moments they both stayed silent before she chose to speak up:

"So Doctor.. Can I come with you? I promise I won't try to arrest you again, or anything like that." She insured him, fearing he would turn her down for trying to arrest him the last time they met.

"Of course you can." He told her simply, though a soft smile was plastered on his face.

Before Ailla could say anything in return, the pair was interrupted by a female voice asking:

"What did I miss?"

The Doctor sighed happily before stealing one of Clara's chips.

oOo

After entering the TARDIS, the Doctor had explained – in broad terms, at least – who Ailla was, to Clara. The human had been so happy to hear, that he had finally found another Time Lord, and decided to leave the two of them alone for a bit, to catch up, and she had gone to her room.

Ailla was sitting in the pilot-seat, looking on as the Doctor went around the console, pressing random buttons. Suddenly he stopped and looked up at her.

"I'm curious; how did you end up in 21st Century Cardiff?" The Doctor asked. "I mean; wasn't it the 35th Century or somewhere around there, when we... met and.. parted?" He ended awkwardly.

"Yes.. well, it was the 34th Century, actually. 3375." She said, "it's a rather dull story, to be honest. Long and boring story."

"Just give me the important bits. How long it's been since we last met, from your point of view. How you got from the 34th century to the 21st." The Doctor urged her.

"Very well; I suppose it's been about 80 years for me – I haven't really kept count. I was in the 34th Century for quite a while.. then I met this guy, who had a Vortex Manipulator and I.. I kind of stole it from him, and then I used it to jump around for a bit; trying to locate a Time Lord, who could give me a ride home. I ended up in Cardiff in 2007 and suddenly the Manipulator died – I assume that damn rift had something to do with that. ... Aaaand I've been stuck here since; keeping an eye out for any Time Lords to emerge." She finished.

"Oh, Ailla, I'm so sorry.. had I known you'd be stranded on Earth, I would have never left you behind back on Darkheart." The Doctor told her.

She raised her hand in an attempt to stop him, shaking her head:

"Doctor, you don't have to apologize. It was my own fault; I shouldn't have threatened to arrest you; I was so young back then; so naive and inexperienced... Trying to prove myself to my bosses.." Her voice ebbed out as her thoughts drifted back through time.

Then she shook her head and raised it to look at the Doctor, "besides; I can't exactly blame you for the fact that no Time Lords crossed my path all those years, can I?" She joked, not knowing what had happened to Gallifrey and the rest of the Time Lords.

The Doctor merely gave a soft smile, hoping that the Time Lady wouldn't notice the bitter-sweetness he was trying to keep hidden on his face.

AN: How was it? I know there was a bit of inconsistency - but that's what happens when you mix what you wrote 2 years ago with something you wrote recently =P

Now a few things I want to clear up:
• Isabella. We will find out later on (MUCH later on!) who she is - but I just wanna explain that she is NOT the original companion from the preview, whom I mentioned in the top AN. As of now, she is suppose to be a mystery.

• Roald Dahl Plass is the square in front of the Millenium Center in Cardiff (where the TARDIS is parked in the series 1 episode "Boom Town" and the entrance to Torchwood used to be).

• Ailla's back story: I did my best to incorporate part of it into the prologue, for the benefit of those who haven't read "The Dark Path". But her back story in short is the following:
Ailla was Kochei (the Master)'s companion. He believed her to be a human from the 28th Century, but she was in fact an agent from the Celestial Intervention Agency sent to spy on him. *skips the first half of the book*: During a fight/war-thing Kochei accidentally shoots Ailla (assuming it to have been an enemy approaching him), she "dies" in his arms before she can tell him that she is from Gallifrey as well, and Kochei decides to change the past using the Darkheart weapon. Meanwhile the Doctor and his companions find Ailla's body and brings it to the zero-room in his TARDIS.
When Ailla appeared, having regenerated after Koschei had destroyed an entire planet (Terileptus) to try to bring her back, it proved to be too much for him. Her betrayal and his murder of a planet was believed to have been the catalyst for turning Koschei into the Master, who sought to control the universe. After the Doctor stopped him, she tried to arrest the Doctor, but was held up (by humans who felt they 'owed' the Doctor, for his assistance).

As the story goes along, I will of course explain further, should there be any call backs to "The Dark Path" and such.

Feel free to leave a comment (or let me know if you have any questions).. I expect to have chapter 1 ready to upload within the next few days (a week, if I'm busy =P)

And remember: The best motivation (for me at least) is feedback. Knowing that someone actually wants to read my story. I already have the entire story planned out (and the sequel as well, actually), so hopefully that will ease the writing process as well. Oh, and if anyone should want to beta-read the story, let me know; I'm sure having a beta-reader is another great motivator for me! ;)

Until the next time. x