Doctor Who- Here there be Dragons…
A trip to paradise places the Doctor scrambling to save Clara and then, something greater.
Chapter One.
When Clara Oswald first started to travel with the Doctor, it had been about seeing new places, the adventure, and above all else, helping that which was most precious. It became more real when she saw up close and personal the men who had been ripped apart by the ice warrior. He had taken her to other dimensions and strange new worlds. The awe had worn off- it was still glorious to see the stars and super nova's but in a way, dealing with creatures that barked back at you or facing the wrath of a creature who was greedy and having to sacrifice things that were so dear made Clara take a deep breath and wonder, what really needed saving. Deep down, the Doctor knew she was afraid, but had, as adults been, very brave about the whole thing and yes, it had turned out alright in the end, but, he worried. He knew when the companions were unhappy, they tended to not want to travel with him and he was still trying to figure out her impossible mystery.
The Doctor sensed this in his young companion, and knew that a trip to a lovely peaceful place was what was in order. There was a particular planet that he knew of, the planet Charma that was spoken highly of by other species. It was safe, day trip they had said had no known predators, and was quite charming if you enjoyed small villages of quite local folk. Everything was screen coming and going so there was no chance of something untold arriving on the planet. Safe. Quite, Lovely.
Yes. That was what was needed. They even had quaint customs of labeling things like Dragons Moss, Dragons Water, Dragon Fruit… One would think they had an obsession with Dragons. It was possible; perhaps, such a wonderful place would have unicorns too… The Doctor found himself caught in a thought about Unicorns and Clara, then shook his head, "Best not to go there" he thought to himself.
Clara woke to the sound of the Tardis landing. Sitting upright in bed, she saw that the Doctor had laid out an outfit for her to wear. She slipped out of her nightdress in the shower, changed quickly and was sliding into her shoes 10 minutes later. A gentle knock by the Doctor had Clare springing to her feet. "Coming!" she said with a wide grin. Her bed made, her nightdress tucked under her pillow, she was ready for anything. The Doctor regarded her and then spun her around so that she faced to the wall. Delft hands began to braid her wet hair swiftly before attaching them to the top of her head with colorful ribbons. He turned her to the mirror for a look. "Is this some native wear?" Clara asked curiously. The Doctor nodded, smiling. He had checked on the local customs before selecting what she should wear, and was delighted by the results.
"So, what's all this- ribboniey thingy?"
The Doctor took a breath and looked down. "Well, it's called Binding"
"Binding? That- sounds a bit mid evil" she said frowning. She saw him fidget.
"What's Binding?" she asked a bit firmer. He shifted looking down.
"Well, it's just- that… It makes things a bit more simple for you." He said finally. She regarded him and studied how much he fidgeted. "What's Binding?" she repeated with her hands on her hips. She saw him take a breath then let it out.
"It's – just that." He said. "Look, In some cultures, an unmarried girl at any age is ether an invitation to slavery or an acceptance of marriage. While it is possible that you might find your soul mate here, - it might be better if the lads were given a ward off for a while until you are old enough to decide, hence, the Binding's. The weave of your hair and the ribbons show that you're not available for any type of relationship- they don't take flirting lightly here."
"So, you trussed up my hair to prevent me from -?"
The Doctor shifted again. "Over eager suitors" he said at last. "Look, Most will just nod and walk on. A girl with her hair down is an open invitation…" The Doctor blushed. Deeply. Clare blinked several times wondering what the open invitation was to- and what the Doctor had brought her to. She considered pulling the weavings out of her hair, but, thought better of it.
"You want me to behave?" she asked softly. "No snog box references? She saw relief on his face.
"It would be the safest bet not to get taken into slavery by a man."
"If the planet was like this, why did you bring me here?"
"Because, it's one of the most peaceful places in all of the known universes."
Crooking his arm, he led the way outside. It took several seconds for the scent of flowers to invade Clara's senses. She found herself taking deep breaths and looking everywhere.
"What do you smell?" The Doctor asked eyeing her response.
"Flowers,-"she said, then, she looked at the Doctor puzzled. "I don't see any flowers- how do I smell flowers?" She looked around again. The inner courtyard was. lined with bright colored large boulders – each one of them was a different rainbow of colors that glittered in the blue sunlight. They were odd shapes too- some upright, some sprawled, all of them uniquely different. She looked at the Doctor. His face was one of bliss.
"What do you smell?" she asked curious.
"Baked bread." He said with a grin. "It's the welcome stones of Charna Each visitor smells something different. No two people smell the exact same scent. Do you know what type of flowers you are smelling?" he asked as he escorted her to a large stand that held a curved pen of sorts.
He saw her puzzle a moment. "Lilies" she said softly. She closed her eyes again. "Lilly's and the flowers you have at a funeral." Tears began to run down her face. "I don't know why it makes me so sad."
Clara saw the pen hesitate, and then it moved across the stone slab beneath it. In tiny letters she saw it write what she had just said, and who she was, where she was from. It hesitated with the next part which Clara saw was the person's birthdate. She shot the Doctor a curious glance.
"What's it waiting for?" she couldn't help but to ask as she wiped the tears from her cheek.
The Doctor smiled gently at her. "Most ladies don't wish to tell how old they are…" but, as this is in the future, you're a bit older than what you look…"
"How much older?" Clara saw the Doctor swallow-
"Oh, um, older,…"
"Older than?"
"Older than Methuselah" The pen hovered- waiting. Clara thought for a moment.
"Would it matter to the men here if I was that old?"
The Doctor hesitated.
Laughing, Clara waved to the pen. "Oh go on, I'm not vain" she giggled. The pen tipped itself into the block, and wrote Clara's birthdate down. It hesitated once more , as if studying her.
"Now what is it waiting for?" She asked tilting her head to the right.
"You would call it a fortune cookie thing. It writes down what some call a prophecy. "
The pen swirled around her several time and then finished her entry before moving off to the Doctors entry. Clara regarded it. "More than the Doctor ever bargained for when he chose to solve her mystery Bringer of Life."
Clara frowned. She recalled something that the Doctor had said in the Tardis, before, but it still didn't make sense. Glancing over she saw the Doctor was having a long chat with the pen about writing, "The Doctor" for his name and not something else. Sighing she picked up one of the info pamphlets and began to read about the local flora.
There were noises outside. The scent of the flowers faded as she opened the door and stepped out along the stone paths to the street merchants. Remembering the awful blue fruit, Clara was curious about the different items sold, but shook her head over many of the samples offered. She really wasn't hungry, the Tardis had a full well stocked kitchen, and her mother had always said, don't drink the local water when traveling.
It was then she heard the crack of a whip and an agonizing scream of pain in her head. Well, more like an electric whip and the scream that followed told Clara that it had caused pain to something. The Doctor had cautioned her, Not everything that they saw would meet with the values that she had grown up with, and it wasn't their place to be a judge of lifestyles. But Clara had traveled with the Doctor, and knew that in times of most precious cargo, there were times that one must step forward to act.
Clara hurried around the corner and saw a dragon. She blinked a few times and realized, yes, it was really a dragon gray with scars from the beatings it had endured, with its tattered wings bound to its body with thick metal straps held on with magnetic clamps and it was hitched to a wagon that it was forced to pull. It wasn't much larger than an ox would be, and perhaps, younger it could have managed to pull the wagon. One overloaded, one with a man who's weathered scarred face sneered as the Dragon wobbled in the traces as it tried to shift the load into movement.
She couldn't look away, She couldn't walk away. Clara found herself running to the beast's side and blocking the next blow with her body. The whip struck her back with force enough to knock her into the dragon. "NO!" Clara shouted knowing full well that the next blow was going to fall regardless if she was in the way or not. She reached up, grabbing the whip and pulled it, and the man who welded it down to the ground. She stood over the man; whip in hand, anger on her face. "NO!" she said firmly.
Unhitching the dragon was just a matter of pulling the tip pins from the wagon, and hitting the release clamps on the harness. Clara didn't count on the muzzle coming off of the dragon, or its face turning towards her. It sniffed her before its claws reached out and grabbed her holding her tightly as its ragged wings stretched outward. The Doctor hearing the commotion was skidding around the corner when he saw the Dragon wink out- as if it was never there. The whip that Clara held fell to the ground.
Warmth. Soft warmth enveloped Clara like an old comfortable blanket her mother used to tuck her into bed with on a winters day. She lifted her head and discovered she was under the wing of the dragon, lying on a bed of moss near a quiet pond. She could tell something was wrong even before she struggled out from under the wing. Its breath was labored, and it lay at an odd angle.
Carefully Clara sat beside it and lifted its head. "I don't know what to do to help you." She said softly. Her fingers stroked the eye ridge of the dragon as she tried to hum a lullaby through her tears. The tears rolled down her face and touched the dragons. It opened its eyes to regard her.
"Please don't die." Clara said softly brushing the dragon's own tears away before her own. The dragon gave a soft moan, before closing its eyes again, its ragged breath slowed, then stopped.
"No, please, don't die" Clara repeated, then bringing the muzzle up, Clara took a deep breath and began to breath into the Dragons' muzzle. Over and over again Clara tried to force the air into its lungs hoping it would be enough. She moved around to its chest and began chest compressions, and then back again to the muzzle willing for the dragon to begin breathing on its own.
She couldn't save it. Hugging its head she returned to her sobbing until exhausted, she could cry no more. Clara was aware she was in the middle of nowhere, with a dead dragon, with the possibilities of other dragons in the wild nearby. She had no idea what they ate, but, she didn't think they survived on morning dew and buttercups. In the dimming sunlight her fingers moved down the neck of the dragon to where the scales were, the tips of the fingers felt the hard ridges of each of the scales. There weren't many, maybe 10 or 12. Something that she had read to the kids about turtles came back to Clara with a shock. "Oh, you poor little thing." She said softly just as the sound of a branch breaking behind her reached her ears. Hot breath waved over her.
"I didn't know what to do to help." She said out loud. "I didn't know what to do. I tried. And I failed and I am sorry for your loss, and nothing you can do to me will change things or the sorrow I feel in my heart over this senseless death of your child" Clara turned looking into the face of a much bigger dragon that was 3 times the size of the dragon who had brought her there.
The town was a seething mass of chaos as the great beasts which pulled the wagons stopped in unison and lifted their muzzles to the air giving out a great sobbing cry. The agony of their voices caused the Doctor to fall to his knees clutching his chest. Kindly hands helped him up, and into one of the shops where a thick sweet drink was offered to restore him. The Doctor held it to his lips then set the small cup down. "What just happened?" he asked the shop keeper who identified herself as Doratican
"One of the beasts has fallen." She said simply, as simply as saying the moon was green and the sun blue. The Doctor looked at her perplexed. "But- what happened?" he asked taking ahold of her forearm. Doratican regarded him. She knew he was just new to the planet, and there were often questions that couldn't be explained simply.
"Fardens beast was loosed by a visitor and it escaped to the realm. Ether the visitor slayed it or it died on its own. Shame of that, It's forever to raise them should you find their nest and carry it away. Though she is bound, the visitor committed an untimely. Best her chances are with the beasts of the wild than here."
"An, untimely?" The Doctor pushed the question gently. "What is an Untimely?"
"She raised her hand against Fardens. That alone is a trip to the market, even if she is bound."
"A visitor can't defend someone or something?"
The Doctor saw Doratican hesitate. Her voice dropped. "I know you are with her. I can see It in your eyes that you are hoping for the best for her. If the beasts of the wild don't eat her, she faces far worse here and there would be no saving her. Our laws are written just so to keep the measure here, even if some may feel it isn't right. I know you will want to go look for her, but there isn't anything you can do tonight. Curfew is in a handful of moments and it's time for you to make your journey to where you will be spending the night."
"Well, we only really just arrived, we hadn't made plans for the night, - when did they start the curfew? What about the Starlight dances you all held?" He saw the shopkeeper shake her head again. "
"Not for ages have we held them. If I could, I would let you stay in the top room, but, it's now an Untimely for me to do so, so I must turn you out. And don't be thinking to turn another beast loose, they only go back to where they were last remembered and not all are from the same. Nor are they all inclined to not kill someone when their muzzles are removed."
"But, why the curfew?" The Doctor asked as he was being pushed out the door. She sighed.
"Because not all of the beasties in the town get settled in properly or fed anything, they are bound so they cannot jump away, but it doesn't stop them from hunting what that moves on the street at night. If you want to find your companion, they will be hunting the body of the beast tomorrow. If there is anything left of her, they will bring her back with the carcass."
The streets were near empty when the Doctor was pushed out the door. He could see the shop people closing up and the locals hurrying home with their bags of food. Frowning he returned to the welcome center and back into the Tardis, closing the door behind him. Hurrying to the console he moved a scanner around and began to pace. "Dragons? Here? How? And what was that – jump she said they do?" he asked the Tardis. He looked expectantly across at the monitor, but it remained blank. "Are you – sulking- still?" he asked pointedly. "I though you two had made up and were friends!" The Doctor heard a grumble from inside the Tardis console. "Oh, that was only to save me? Well, that's well and good, but, she's the one needing saving and it's my entire fault that I brought her here because I thought it was safe, and you let me. So if something happens to her, it's on both of us. Tell me about the Dragons outside."
For the second time in the day, Clara found herself in the clutch of a dragon and in the air. The other dragon was in its other front claw This one didn't jump though. It just flew low against the trees , Clara hung on to its leg, closing her eyes to the flight- knowing that she could be dropped or eaten at any given second.. But it didn't happen. The dragon landed with a soft footfall before lowering Clara to the ground outside a dark cave. Nudging Clara in, the dragon followed and as Clara looked behind, the space that they had entered was sealed by a rock that rolled into place with a nudge. Carefully it laid the dragon on its side near the far wall. It stood over the smaller dragon its muzzle touching the smaller dragons head. Clara heard the older dragon moan. The sound of the dragon's grief echoed in the cave that night, mixed with her own.
The Doctor paced the Tardis control room running his fingers through his hair. The information that was available was that which was handed out to the tourist. The dragons were used as beast of burden and could pull massive amounts of weight. They had, in flight, the ability to jump from one distance to another in a heartbeat, though if the wings were bound; it prevented the dragon from this. Dragons were used as the main meat and food source for the community and it was felt that the dragons had limited intelligence. The death warble was something that happened once in a great while if a dragon in the wild happened to die; its death was – grieved – by the other dragons briefly.
"How – do they know?" the Doctor wondered out loud. Taking a breath the Doctor began to stride to the Tardis doors. He found them locked, and even by turning the lock, the doors still would not open. "How am I supposed to get answers in here?" he demanded. The Tardis didn't answer him. - he sat upon a chair and scowled at the console "Is it because you don't like her that you are not allowing me to find means to rescue her?" he asked pointedly. He was about to continue his rant when the outside of the Tardis began to be banged about. The Tardis dimmed its lights and in a way, the Doctor would have loved to see what was outside – until he heard a horrifying set of screams. There was more banging, more screams. When the silence fell the Doctor found himself sitting on the floor of the Tardis holding his head in his arms. It hadn't sounded like Clara screaming- of course, he didn't know exactly what was screaming, but, whatever was knocking the Tardis about was something that was probably not going to listen to reason.
Once again Clara woke up in the velvety softness and warmth of a dragon. She had tried to do her best in comforting the dragon when it finally fell asleep. She curled up next to it glad for the warmth of its body. What woke her were low moans from the dragon. At first she though the dragon was still crying, but, this was something else, the dragon was in pain. Clara knew there were no visible wounds on the dragon. Carefully she ran her hand over the dragon's ribs to see if in carrying the young dragon back, that something was strained. Clara blinked twice.
"Ohh" she said surprised. "Oh, you poor dear" she continued sighing "Right then. What do you need me to do?" she asked moving her legs to be a pillow for the dragon. Carefully she stroked the eye ridges of the dragon and spoke in a soft voice, telling her of being raised by her parents, and how the Doctor came into her life and all of the wonders that she had seen. It passed the time..
Dawn came; The Doctor woke up and found the Tardis was letting him out the door. He washed his face and went to the kitchen for something to eat. He wasn't keen on the food the village had to provide. Something still wasn't right. When he walked out to the welcome center he saw a great many of the crystal stones had been moved about, and there was a splash of red blood over the floors and walls. Of the source of the blood, he could only determine that it was human, but not whom. He was reassembly certain that it wasn't Clara's
There was something different about the town too. Perhaps it was too early – perhaps, people slept in, but the sun was up, and there was silence. The Doctor was careful to close and lock the Tardis doors. He strode through the welcome center and walked out of the stone courtyard to the main street. Glancing around, he saw that most every house – every place of business had their doors broken down. He swept his sonic screwdriver around and then glanced at the readings.
Everyone was gone.
The Doctor heard a scrape behind him. One of scale to stone as the heavy brown beast came around the corner. Its muzzle had been ripped loose and its wings while still bound were torn with the effort to escape. The Doctor went to its side and removed the bindings, as well as the muzzle. As the Doctor tossed the harness bindings to the side, he saw where the owners had bobbed the Dragons tail to a stump that now wagged pitifully. There was no blood on its maw, or on its feet. The Doctor doubted very much if the Dragon before him was what had killed the people of the town.
"Where are the others?" The Doctor asked the dragon gently.
It gave a snuff then wandered in the direction of the stables. The stables were in a shambles. Many of the Dragons stalls had been smashed open; several of the beasts lay on their sides with deep wounds in them. The Doctor did everything he could to ease their sufferings, Those he could free, he did, but – to his puzzlement, they just gathered around outside in a group and grunted in low tones to each other. They had known no other life except one of captivity; The Doctor had no idea if they could survive on their own now. In time, he hoped, their tails would grow back, as well as their wings,
The Doctor strode back to the welcome center. If someone had arrived in the last few days, there would be a record. How long did Doratican say that they hadn't had the festival, and the curfew? A while. The Tardis could get into the local records much faster than he could. He quickened his pace when he realized all of the dragons were following him. Not just the ones who had escaped injury, but the injured as well. Not in an aggressive way, rather, they were terrified, and it seemed they knew he would protect them. He was able to slip into the Tardis, and for some reason, the Tardis locked the doors after him. "It's still out there, isn't it?" he asked concerned looking at the door. He turned the monitor around and regarded it, watching the young dragons shuffle about the stones nosing them. Some gave off soft creels as if in grief before nudging the stone with its head
"What are the known species of this planet? "he asked. The Tardis spun a list of 47 thousand species upon the planet, most of them being plants, insects, and some fish. But what the Doctor found interesting was that there were very few species that ate meat- the dragons not being one of them. The only warm blooded creature that ate meat, of a sort, was several of the tiny bird species that would rob other birds' nests of the eggs and would eat their weight in insects in a day.
Landing records showed just the basic civilized races coming to visit, nothing strange about any of the cultures or lifestyles. There was a thriving trade with the visitors, but- something was amiss.
None of them had ever departed. Well, some had, those who came, traded and got back on their ships to go to the next planet, and did the trip in a day, the rest of them seemed to ether have become a permanent resident, or, as the records said, moved out into the wild as a foolish attempt to make a home with the wild beasts.
Pacing seemed to help the Doctor think. While there had been some blood, and signs of a scuffle and the rocking of the Tardis, and damage to the doors, it wouldn't have been enough blood for the whole town. What did Doratican say? "They will be hunting the carcass of the beast tomorrow…" The Doctor smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. "How could I be – so – stupid?" He heard the Tardis give an almost chuckle. "It's not funny. How was I to know Doratican meant after midnight was the new morrow, not dawn? They started hunting at midnight, which was about when the Tardis started rocking. They were hunting- flesh. When they couldn't get to me, they broke into the places that had visitors and took them. "The Doctor closed his eyes. He heard a warble from the Tardis. "No, I don't know if Clara's act precipitated it, But I know, if she is out there, we have to find her before they do. We also need to figure out, what to do with these- dragons. If we leave them here they will continue to be mistreated. "
There was a moment of silence in the Tardis before the Doctor heard a gentle click of the door and as it swung open, the nose of one of the smaller dragons poked in.
"You are serious?" the Doctor asked as the small dragon waddled in. He sighed and went to the door. "Come along, we are saving you." The dragons one by one shuffled into the Tardis control room and moved to the furthest spot to make room for the others. For a moment the Doctor leaned against the console. He bundled the records he had found, the data, everything into a single message burst and sent it alerting the Shadow Proclamation that there was something very wrong with this planet.
The Shadow Architect regarded the Doctors message and found her gazing at the wounded creatures that packed the Tardis control room. "It isn't the Shadow Proclamations place to dictate how species care for the creatures of the planet. However, your concern of the missing visitors is valid."
"Madam Architect these dragons are the primary species of the planet, or were until they were slaughtered for food, and used as beast of burden. They are intelligent, and possess telepathic ability. Cleary an advanced creature such as this deserves protection. "he saw her hesitate a moment, and used that moment to run his sonic screwdriver over some of the injured. "This one is just 5 years old, - this one- a three year old. The oldest one here is just 9 years old. For a species that lives almost as long as the time lords did, these are but infants. I don't know about you, but that type of abuse disturbs me at many levels and the beings that did this right now are out there hunting my friend to serve her up on little sticks and eat her. Now, if, I do this on my own, you probably won't be happy with the results…"
He could feel the withering gaze from the Shadow Architect. They usually weren't happy with his results. The Doctor sighed, resigned. "Fine. Well, then, until this is sorted out, can you broadcast that this planet is hostile and for the others to stay away until it's settled?" The Doctor knew the Shadow Proclamation would probably do that anyway, but he liked to think he had some measure of control over the situation.
They were both startled by sudden whimpers from the dragons before they lifted their muzzles to the air and gave out a great sobbing cry in unison. The grief/ physical pain ripped through the Doctor knocking him down to his knees with a cry of his own. He grabbed at his chest. The Shadow Architect felt the wave of grief through the transmission. It was not as pronounced as what the Doctor had endured; there was no physical pain with it, only a great sorrow. He looked up at her "They know when one of their own in the wild has died…" he said gasping through the pain.
The dragons lifted their muzzles up and screamed. It was of panic and pain and terror. The last that the Shadow Architect saw was the Doctor falling back, overcome by the sound and grief, and the dragons surrounding him, their claws locking in the grill of the Tardis floor. Their wings spread. Then, nothing. The screen went blank, as the connection was broken. She leaned against the console and turned to the Jadoon beside her. "They must have jumped… I fear, the Doctor is no more…"
Clara saw the light from the stone that blocked the door go dark. Glancing up, she saw it was the Tardis had neatly placed itself within the door blocking the entrance. While she knew it could be pushed out of the way, it would make a barrier from the hunters that she knew were in the valley below. She had heard the hunt, heard the panicked gasps of the dragons they were chasing. She knew each time they killed a dragon; it caused the other dragons to call out in grief. The hunters would use that to locate the other dragons and they knew, by the tone, how big the dragons were. It would only be a matter of time before they found the cave and she knew there would be no stopping them. The door didn't open, the Doctor didn't pop out, there was only a faint whimper from inside the Tardis, and the sounds of the hunters coming up the hill. They had a young Dragon captured. She could hear its terrified squeals and it would only be a matter of time before they killed it. Standing up, Clara went to the Tardis doors and gave it a push. It resisted, and then opened. She swung both doors open and then went back to the Dragon. "Come on…" she encouraged her softly. It took a while for the Dragon to make its way into the Tardis, and then it swung its head around at the sound of the squeals outside. The smaller Dragons parted as Clara approached the still figure of the Doctor. His hearts were still beating, he was still breathing, just knocked out, she reckoned. Reaching inside his pocket she pulled out his sonic screwdriver. She had one chance at saving the captured dragon, One chance to make things – right. She looked back at the larger dragon who had settled in the far corner surrounded by wiggly smaller dragons.
It was always in Clara's nature to be strong willed and to care for the young. She knew that she inherited those gentle traits from her mother. Fighting for what one believed in was something she got from her father. Clara's small frame slid through the narrow opening between the Tardis and the tunnel out. Even the strongest resolve was something Clara had to fight to control. The sight of the villagers covered in dragon's blood, their faces, twisted in anger and hunters rage caused her to gasp and take a step backward. There were about 15 of them working their way up the narrow ledge to the cave and a few more minutes they would be up there. Poised to kill whatever they found. She saw the little dragon. It was half the size of the dragon that she had freed. Its neck was wet with grime and she could see the tears in its eyes. It was enough to cause Clara to step forward and extend the sonic screwdriver at the path just before them.
"OYE YOU!" she shouted. "Let the Dragon go! " Course laughter from the villagers came up to her.
"You just made finding you – easier – Bound or not bound," Clara recognized the voice of the man who had whipped her. Fardens face had not improved with his smile leaving Clara determined to wipe the smile from it. She pointed the sonic screwdriver at the rock path and pressed the button. It took a second, and a whack from Clara to get the screwdriver to send a sonic pulse through the rock making the path and part of the mountain behind it drop into the valley below.
She saw Fardens hand tightens around the small dragon's neck. Clara looked at him hard. She knew the Doctor would say not to place her values on other cultures. She had felt the grief of a dragons passing, heard the most beautiful thing she had seen in the entire universe grieve for a lost one. Clara pointed to the other path "Let the Dragon go, now." She said. Fardens looked down at the baby dragon and with his other hand began pulling its leg at a painful angle. Its screams of agony ripped through Clara. Gritting her teeth she pushed the button making the ledge behind them blast into dust. "Last chance. "she said pointing at the rock beneath their feet. "Let the Dragon go NOW."
Clara saw him smile. "If you do, the dragon will die…You wouldn't…"
"To stop you from harming another? Wouldn't I? So, your choice is, Let the Dragon go, and make your way down the mountain, or, die now." While Clara was relatively certain that Fardens wouldn't let the dragon go, the others would value their lives over a dragon. There was a brief struggle before Fardens untied the little dragon and with a cruel laugh, tossed it down into the valley below. Its wings damaged, it flailed helplessly out of sight.
"I let it go…" Fardens said with a sneer."
"Yes, You did. And I lied."
A soft voice spoke behind her
"You don't lie..." The Doctors warm hand took the Sonic screwdriver from her "Go inside and help Mum" he said just as softly. She nodded leaving the Doctor to stand with his arms crossed.
"It's over." He said carefully measuring his words. "The Shadow Proclamation has placed warning beacons around your planet saying it's been contaminated with the 7 minute plague. All humanoid life forms will be removed and the planet returned to what it had been before your arrival."
There was laughter below. "As if that will stop us from returning and knocking those useless markers out of the air, again? Who do you think gave us permission to be here?"
"Well, then, you need to take it up with the original inhabitants then…" said the Doctor indicating what had just risen up from the forest floor. Sprawled between the wings of one of the largest Dragons the Doctor had ever seen was the small dragon that Fardens had tossed into the valley. It hissed at Fardens as the Doctor stepped back into the cave.
There was no sign of Clara or the other dragons in the control room. Concerned, the Doctor followed his nose and discovered that they had all shifted to one of the gardens that had grown a bit wild over time. He found Clara beside the dragon she had been with when they arrived and she was speaking softly to it as it laid on its side panting for breath.
Pulling out his sonic screwdriver he began to scan the dragon only to have Clara cover the screwdriver with her hand "Oye, a bit of privacy for her please."
"Whot?" She wore a grin on her face. "Go wait with the others" she said shoving him off in the direction of the smaller dragons.
The Doctor felt the soft jolt of the Tardis being placed on the ground. Curious, he stood and walked through the corridors to find himself face to face with a very large Dragon, by his reasoning the one that had caught the little dragon and confronted those on the ledge. In its mouth was moss, and it ducked as it went through the door past him to the gardens. Hearing noise beyond the hall, the Doctor hurried to the end and slid into the control room. It was filled with Dragons. Some big, some small, some looking clearly worried. He went to the door and saw that they had been moved to a pond, with a mossy bank and a familiar figure moving through the trees collecting a bowl of fruit, flowers and moss. Madam Vastra turned and regarded the Doctor.
"My sisters are gathering up the remainder of the inhabitants and setting the planet to right… It was – quite disconcerting to find a Dragon in ones' garden and be brought here in the blink of an eye…While, the language gap between, our species is great, the atrocities that have been visited upon them have seared through our minds. They are gentle beings, and cannot bring themselves to place the villagers to the penalty of death."
"Not, all of the villagers – killed." The Doctor said frowning. He knew what justice was to an even tempered Silurian warrior.
"None the less, they all profited from it." She said bitterly.
The sound of excited squeaks and squeals drew the Doctor and Madam Vastra into the Tardis. Baskets in hand, the hurried to the garden where Clara was breathing into the small nose of the bundle in her arms. It gave a sudden snort and moved in her arms with wiggles more than she could contain. Carefully she placed it beside its mother who regarded Clara before turning its attention to her child.
Madam Vastra offered the baskets to the dragon that stood behind its mate watching Clara stand and move back from the happy family.
"How, is this possible?" she whispered to the Doctor. The Doctor could only shake his head.
The village was gone. It had been removed by the Silurian's who took their time in replanting the species of plants needed for the dragon's survival. The Shadow Proclamation took their own time getting to the planet, fully prepared to slap the wrists of those involved and then quietly retreat only to find a legion of Silurian's waiting for their arrival with the villagers already in custody to await trial in their recognized court. The forests were alive with the sounds of reunions of families, and mourning of families broken.
Clara regarded the welcoming stones, tears in her eyes. The stones no one could explain, the stones worth their weight in a planets resources for the energy that it provided once hooked into the right equipment. The very stones used to help power the Shadow Proclamation. Stones that no one else knew how they formed, or worked, but, she did.
She knelt by the newest stone, the one formed from the body of the young dragon that she had freed. It hadn't changed much; just the outer crystallization of the body and it was beginning to turn transparent. The wind, and rain had changed the other crystals changing the detail, but this one, untouched, would change and decay to the perfect memory of the dragon itself. The stones had been brought up to the cave, one by one by the dragons where they would be sealed in so that they could finally find peace.
She felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, Clara saw it was Madam Vastra. "Time to go." She said softly. Clara nodded as she stood. The ribbons long since removed from her hair were now bundled and lying beside the head of the dragon stone. As they walked through the tunnel to the entrance, she regarded Clara, but then looked back down the tunnel to the dragon stone.
Clara stopped. "You know the Doctor; you have known the Doctor for a very long time."
Madam Vastra paused "Yes. Why?"
"He is a good and kind man for the innocent, but how does he have a splinter of ice in his heart?"
Her words caused Madam Vastra to breathe in quickly as a gasp of surprise before she composed herself and let it out slowly. "Traveling with the Doctor changes his companions. They, lose their innocence, and become warriors like him. They move on, grow old, and die, and he feels their loss with every fiber of his being."
"How am I different from any other person on earth?" Clara wondered half to herself. Madam Vastra regarded her "That is something that you must discuss with him."
The Doctor sat outside the Tardis on a handy rock. He knew Clara wanted to say her goodbyes, and that after they left, the planet was going to be pulled out of phase to protect the creatures from becoming exploited. In a way, where they were- right now, was exactly as the Doctor had wanted to present the planet to her.
Clara and Madam Vastra walked up to the Doctor who glanced up at them in a thoughtful way.
"It won't be enough, you know. Having them out of phase. All it takes is a fractal scan of the universe where they might have been, and a jammy dodger to locate the energy source from the stones even if they are buried under the mountain. He said sullenly "Even if I take the entire planet back into time, and swap it with the brand new planet, they will still be found, and exploited and the problem compounds.
"Doctor, it, isn't our decision to make" Clara said softly. "You said it, they are intelligent telepathic creatures, and, I think, they know what to do…"
Madam Vastra stood stock still in amazement "They are going to do what?"
"Jump. The whole planet of them in one- big jump that will take them to a place where they are reasonably sure that they can live out their lives in peace. All, except, for this little girl. And some of the others that can't fly due to wing damage" The Doctor said softly scratching the head of the small dragon that had been thrown off into the valley. Its limbs were still in the state of healing and it wouldn't survive the jump. I've even thought of a name for her - Y Ddraig Goch"
"The Red- this is the Welsh dragon THE- ?" Clara gasped.
"Just until they are healed and ready to jump back with the rest of the dragons here. They will disapear by modern times and have the centruys they need to heal in the mean time."
Clara watched as the older dragons lowered their heads to touch the younger ones before the Doctor lead them into the Tardis and down into the garden. She gasped as right next to her formed an older red dragon that regarded her with a tilted head. Several other dragons, older, and scarred appeared. The older female dragon nudged Clara to the Tardis. She gave the female dragon a hug around the neck and stepped in to the tardis, closing the doors behind her.
The planet was gone. Just in the space of time that it took to blink, it disapeared. Clara regarded the Doctor. He seemed to be throwing glances about the different dragons and when he had the tardis stabalized, he lead them back down to the garden where the young dragons rolled happly on the soft moss. It would take months and months before the young ones were healed enough to start ventures outside. They didn't always mind the Doctor, but they would listen to Clara. One by one, the Doctor found homes for the dragons , starting as early as 18 bc.
"In two hundred years this lot will be the great dragons of the orient"
The last to be placed was Goch, who creend softly as it knew it was time.
"I will see you again" she said softly to the dragon offering it a patch of moss to chew on. It chortaled deep in its throat and wandered into the cave the Doctor had created for it to settle in where they knew it would grow, and wander around the country side creating the legends of the welsh people.
The Doctor regarded Clara.
"Up for another adventure?" he asked. He saw her raise her eyebrow at him.
"What sort of adventure?" she asked.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe King Arthurs court where I am Merlin and help them defeat an alien warforce? Goch will be there..." he said after a pause. "Of course, she may not remember me, but she will remember you..."
"To give her up again in what? Another two weeks? To tell her to go to a planet where I can't ever see her again?" Clara closed her eyes trying not to cry. "Is this what you feel each time you leave one of us behind?" she asked before bolting out of the control room down the hall to her room.
To be continued...