Chapter 1

"Doctor, I want to leave."

The Doctor didn't reply; in fact, he didn't even move from where he stood, right in front of the TARDIS panel control. For a moment, Vicki thought he hadn't heard her. After all, they were in the middle of a battle. All around them, the Greek army was busy in sacking and burning Troy, and even with the protection provided by the walls of the TARDIS, they could distinctly hear the screams and feel the smell of the fire. Vicki started to repeat, but then the Doctor abruptly spoke.

"May I know why?"

There was sadness in his voice, underneath the seemingly calm tone, and his face was still obstinately turned in the other direction as if he could not bear to look at her. A sudden urge of pity rushed through Vicki, and the girl ran and hugged him tightly, fighting back the tears.

"Oh, now, now, child" the Doctor scolded her, without returning her hug. "You don't need this. Just tell me why you're leaving."

"I'm sorry, Doctor, really…"

"Yes, yes, yes! Just tell me what it is!" he insisted, pushing her away, with some violence. That proved to be the very hard part for Vicki. She knew from the start that the Doctor would react badly at her leaving, just as he had done with Ian and Barbara; but she hoped that he would have given her the chance to give him a proper goodbye, completed with a hug and some wishes for good luck. And instead, he didn't even look at her, he kept giving her his back and fixing his eyes on the TARDIS panel: a cold, distant figure, so different from the kind, enthusiastic old man she loved. That was not the way she wanted this to go, not in the least.

But then, if he wanted to do it that way, well, so be it. She would have still given him her own piece of mind, as she had always done, without getting angry or nasty at him.

"I met someone, a boy, and I… I am in love with him. I want to stay here with him, start a family and have my own life."

The Doctor sighed and finally turned towards her. "A boy, eh?" asked, with a mischievous tone.

"Yes, a boy."

"And you want to leave me for him."

"Doctor, it's not like that…"

"No, no, of course, it isn't" sighed the old man. "It never is" added, lost in the distant memory of another young girl with black hair, who made the same choice.

"Doctor" insisted Vicki, "I love you. Really, I do. When I met you, I lost everything I had, and the only friend left to me was a liar, who used me to save his own skin. You gave me a new home, a new family, and led me to see things I never imagined I would see: Rome, Jerusalem, Vortis, Ceres, Winter… It was new and exciting, and all so wonderful, and you were kind to me and gentle, and… Doctor, I will never thank you enough for everything."

"And yet, you're leaving me."

"Not because you have ever failed me. It's just that… I want to belong somewhere. I need to stay in one place and make a difference, not just… pass through like a shadow in the night. Please, Doctor, try to understand…"

"I do," said the Doctor. "You should remember you are not the first one to say these things to me" he added. "You are just repeating what Ian and Barbara said when we found that Dalek time machine."

"And you let them go."

"Because you persuaded me to do so. You said it was up to them."

"And I abide by that. It was up to them, as it is up to me now."

"Yeah, I suppose so" the Doctor concluded, with a resigned sigh, and finally opening their arms to hug her tightly. "I shall miss you, child. I really shall. You have no idea of the comfort you have this given to an old buffalo like me." Vicki smiled and didn't reply; she was too busy weeping on the shoulder of the man she has come to see as a father. They stayed like this for what seemed centuries; then, finally, they parted, and she moved towards the door of the time machine.

"Oh, by the way, child," said the Doctor, ready to open the door, "before you go, may I at least know who's the lucky fellow?"

"His name's Troilus" Vicki replied, smiling. "He is a son of Priam, a prince of Troy. Well, no more prince, I guess, since the city is burning…"

"What? Troilus? A prince of Troy?" exclaimed the Doctor, with a voice so full of sudden anguish and horror to make Vicki start.

"W-well, yes" confirmed Vicki, unsure of what had gotten into him. "We met recently, and he is nice and brave…"

"Never mind that, never mind that!" the Doctor urged. "You said that he was a prince, a son of Priam. Are you sure of that?"

"Of course, I am! I lived there in the last few days after they brought the TARDIS here."

"And what else do you about him?"

"Well, nothing too personal, we have spoken only a few times, but I am sure he is the right one" insisted Vicki. She started to feel like the female characters of those old romantic movies from the XXth century, always defending their choice in front of their parents or friends. Were it not for the fact that the Doctor looked awfully serious, she would have been amused by that. "He was even generous enough to go and look for Steven now in the battle, even if he is dressed as a Greek…"

"Steven… who went here with the name of Diomedes… Oh, my goodness!" the Doctor commented, bringing a hand to his mouth in horror.

"Oh come now, Doctor, what's the matter?" Vicki exclaimed. "You were so calm a minute ago about me leaving!"

No answer came from the Time Lord, but the look he gave her frightened Vicki to the core. She knew that look. It was the same look he had when they realized what the Daleks were doing to the human colony on Winter, or when they found out that Steven was dispersed on Shade chased by the Chaons. It was the most desperate look she ever saw in her life, a look that said that everything was lost, that what they witnessed was just too horrible to be even thought about.

"My child," said the Doctor eventually, gathering all his strength, "have you ever heard the story of Troilus and Cressida?"

"That is the name Troilus knows me by," said Vicki in an atone voice. The Doctor took a long breath and clapped his hand in anguish, lowering his head for a moment before speaking.

"It is one of the myths connected to the Trojan War. Troilus, prince of Troy, the youngest son of Priam, falls in love with Cressida, daughter of Chalcas the seer, who has passed to the Greeks. He is reciprocated, but her father sends for her, and Priam accepts giving her to the enemy. Troilus goes looking for her in the camp, only to discover she betrayed him for Diomedes, the Greek warrior she had been given as a slave. Distressed and disheartened, he goes to fight, and he dies in battle by the hand of Achilles, while trying to avenge his brother, Hector."

Silence fell as Vicki took a step away from the Doctor, her brain trying to process what he just told her. Was he… no, there was no… but then… "W-what are you trying to say?" she finally asked.

"Ever since we landed here, the people we met acted like their counterpart in Greek myths, and even if they did not speak and behave as the legends say, their actions have all followed the patterns of the legend. We landed during the duel between Achilles and Hector, and Hector was slain in front of us. I met Odysseus and gave him the idea of using the wooden horse to conquer Troy, and look, the city has been burned. Diomedes is already dead, but Steven took his armour and his name and… well, you as Cressida obviously showed affection for him…"

"But I did not betray Troilus! And I am not the daughter of… of…"

"Chalcas. No, you are not, the same way you and Steven do not have the relationship of the legend. And yet, you sent a Trojan prince in the midst of battle, searching for an enemy."

"Stop it!" Vicki cried, her anguish becoming painfully evident in her voice. "You can't be sure! I mean… it's a legend, it is not said that…

"You are right" replied the Doctor, moving to the console. "And we will see it soon enough" added, starting to move his fingers across the panel. "If I can properly adjust the scanner, we should be able to look for Troilus, and see what befalls him. If we found out he is alive and well, I'll let you go with him as you wish."

Vicki nodded, and rushed towards the scanner, waiting for the Doctor to operate it. The lid covering the screen came out slowly, too slowly for her heart pumping in her chest like crazy, cutting her breath. She has never felt this anguished before; not when on Dido she learned about her father's death, not when Steven had been taken prisoner by the Daleks on Shade, not even when on T19 the Doctor had nearly died leaving her once again alone. Her hands clasped together without her even realizing it, when pictures, at last, started appearing, showing the vast landscape of plans surrounding Troy, now red with the fire of the burning city. The Doctor moved around the scanner, passing from man to man, from duel to duel, until finally, Vicki recognised Troilus, standing face to face with a tall, dark man, whose armour was covered in blood.

"Achilles" muttered the Doctor. Vicki's blood ran cold hearing that name, and she stuttered back against the console. She stood there, insensible to anything going on around her, to Steven arriving injured at the TARDIS with the help of a young maiden, to the Doctor arguing with Odysseus and then closing the door, to the Greek commander shouting orders to bring out wood to burn the TARDIS (which didn't seem to bother the Doctor in the slightest). All her attention was focused on the screen, on the images unfolding on the surface, telling her a story that would change her life.

She saw Troilus run against Achilles, the sword in his hand and despair in his eyes. She saw the older, more expert warrior raise his shield in defence and, from underneath it, wait for the right moment. She saw Troilus attack again, and again, and again, in a vain attempt to injure his opponent, which expertly kept himself out of distance, well protected by his shield. And then, when Troilus was too tired to attack again, she saw Achille throwing away the shield and merge his sword in the young prince's left side, down to the hilt. She watched in horror as Troilus screamed in pain, and Achilles retracting his sword only to hit him again, this time in the chest. Tears started forming in her eyes, as Troilus fell to the ground, bleeding to death, his helmet falling from his head. Achilles stood on him for one moment, as amazed by what he had done, and then he raised the sword one last time.

Vicki turned. She had seen enough.

The Doctor was standing there, watching her, a look of great pity and sorrow in her eyes. Bursting in tears, she ran towards him and hugged him tightly, crying on his shoulder. The Doctor held her close, caressing her hair with a gentle touch of his old, a familiar, comforting hand. Around them, the TARDIS hummed gently, as if the machine itself wanted to console her.

"We must go now," said the Doctor, detaching himself from her after a moment. "I don't think there is nothing more for us here."