[A/N: If you're not caught up on the other two works in this series (up to ch 40 on When You Least Expect it) then this will have spoilers and will also probably be confusing! This starts during River's first day back at Luna after the headmaster nearly dismissed her (ch 118 Never Alone For Very Long)]
1.
It had been a quick lie, (a good one at that considering she'd pulled it from the top of her head), but now River would have to tell everyone who asked today that her husband was an inventor and she had been trying out 'his invention' of the perception filter the other day. It could be worse, but she knew that everyone was going to ask about the obvious baby bump under her dress. At least she didn't have to talk about dying, yet.
Cameron had left River's notes in good condition, probably even better condition than when River had last touched the papers. There were many folders waiting for her with thorough research that had been done ages ago.
One of the folders was open. On one side was River's monthly agenda with all the lectures she had to teach, today's circled for her in blue-green pen: The Golden Crown of Terra. The other side of the folder held the beginning of her lecture notes.
River sat down with a sigh, flipping through the notes she had written on the Crown. This lecture was a new addition to her class this year, so today would be the first time she ever taught the history of this artifact. She smiled as she leafed through the pages, always pleased by her own skills of researching.
The history wasn't too complicated as far as histories went: The Crown had been passed through numerous generations of multiple great rulers, both extraterrestrial and in post-space-discovery Earth.
To River's knowledge, the artifact itself would be put in a museum just a galaxy away in just a century or two, the first in a line of valuable and relevant pieces from Earth. The early lore surrounding the Crown was very vague and not many historians agreed on what was correct. The students would be evaluating a number of theories today, the point of the lesson to practice theorizing.
A few papers down there was an image of the Crown, a beautiful and shining piece of shaped golden metal with a number of emeralds in it. River studied the large emerald stones that had been expertly rounded so that they were almost planet like, which other historians and researchers believed the name was a tribute to.
As her students started to trickle in, River projected a four-dimensional image of the Crown so it could be examined and admired. Soon enough, the hall was filled with admiring students, some of them taking pictures of the beautiful object.
River let her students admire the object for several minutes before getting down to business, "Judging from your reactions, most of you have never seen or heard of this before. This is the Golden Crown of Terra, one of the oldest and most widely passed pieces of jewelry in the galaxy."
She rolled through the history with the aid of a power point and handed out packets that discussed the multiple theories surrounding the Crown, leaving time for discussion.
One of the students theorized that the near-perfect roundness of the gems couldn't have occurred until the Crown's seventh owner since the technology only sprouted up around that time. Another student agreed with a famous theory that the unity of the materials for the Crown represented an ancient peace between feuding kingdoms. A third suggested that a king who would have possession over it would likely boast and advertise such a treasure, though this was met with some disagreement.
River listened to the bright minds of her students. "I'm curious to know, based on the information presented to you, where do you think the Crown originally came from? It's been narrowed down so that we know it did at one point come from Earth, but what time period? Which King? And how did it end up galaxies away from Earth before any Terrestrains knew about 'extraterrestrial' life?"
A girl raised her hand confidently. "There's a bit on page eleven of the fourth theory." She opened the passage, having highlighted the sentence. "You'd miss it if you were reading fast: 'An unidentified mysterious feminine figure delivered the Crown to Sir Vrurd of the Heolc, the first known use of the Crown's current name.' Who was she?"
River went over to her notes, frowning at the page. Oddly she had missed that bit, "That is a great question. I honestly haven't done much research on that, I'll have to look into it."
"Maybe she was royalty and had the Crown in her family at the time it was missing. Or she happened upon it and turned it in, though that wouldn't explain her knowing the name." The student continued. "I don't think she herself was from Earth if she had the technology to get the Crown from there to Sir Vrurd. And based on when the Crown was delivered to him, it was last on Earth around the 1000's. Maybe a bit earlier."
"It could be possible that the Crown didn't have a name until she gave it to Sir Vrurd because it's highly unlikely for an Earthen King to name the Crown after the Earth instead of after himself." River reasoned, "However I do agree that the woman was not of Earth origin, or at the very least not of the time period."
"You mean like a time agent, miss?" A different boy asked.
"It's possible, yes." She nodded.
A few murmurs resonated among the class at the potential for the exciting combination of archeology and time travel. Nothing new for their professor, of course.
"She didn't choose a very creative name." The same boy observed.
"Yes, that's true, but the name does help establish the origin of the Crown." She noted.
"But even if she used a cooler name, we'd still know it's from Earth because of the materials used and particles left on it. Theory three uses the results from an examination of the organic particles to place the Crown in rural west Europe. Professionals only disagree with that because Amber Fair Park covers the 5000 square kilometers of ground they would need to cross match and confirm."
"Yes, but have you heard of the Ouveron Battle Armor from the Glasker Dynasty? Many of the breastplates were made from Earth materials harvested in Earth's eighteenth century. Had the pieces not had the Ouveron seal, test results would have come back as saying the armor was made in on Earth." River pointed out.
He thought about this for a moment, then nodded. "I still agree with the location in theory three."
"As do I. Now, for next class I want each of you to turn in a ten-page paper either backing up one of the theories or establishing and backing up your own theory."
This earned a few groans from the students as they pulled out planners and phones to write the assignment down. They spent the last bit of class getting a small head start on their work before they were dismissed.
River looked down at her notes again, reading over the pages and taking down notes as she waited for her husband to come. Arthur tumbled around, River's thoughts of the Doctor making him excited.
The TARDIS soon materialized. River didn't look up from what she was doing, still deeply immersed in what she was reading.
Her bowtie-wearing husband strolled out of the ship, with a few full containers of food under his arm. He put them on her desk.
"Lunch time already?" She muttered, turning to her tablet to see what more she could find about Sir Vrurd and the mysterious woman. She frowned when nothing came up, trying multiple different phrases in the database search.
"Yup." He pulled up a chair, opening up the containers. "I made some chicken and rice for you and I brought some salad, too."
"Mmmhmm." She nodded, not really listening to him.
He rounded her desk and tried to peer over her shoulder since whatever she was looking at seemed to have so much of her attention. "What are you looking at?"
She shook her head, powering down the tablet and closing her notes, "It's nothing, just work stuff." She tried to brush it off, looking up and giving him a smile.
He smiled back. "Work stuff can wait until after your break."
"Thank you, dear." She opened the box, picking at the food, trying to clear her mind of her curiosity for the time being.
-x-
Sparked by the ideas of her students, River went to work digging up everything she could find on the Crown. She spent hours in the TARDIS library, reading, taking notes and running searches through various databases to see if there was anything on the mysterious woman and the origin of the Crown. Unfortunately, there wasn't too much to find and all trails eventually lead to dead ends.
With a lack of leads and a long list of other worries to occupy her, River's curiosity on the Crown was put on the back burner. Time kept moving forwards.
It was easy to forget the Crown under the weight of all the other things that needed to be done before Arthur came and River wasn't enough time now to chase old curiosities. There were too many lasts and too much worrying. Not by the girls, though.
The twins were blissfully ignorant of all the going-ons, which everyone was thankful for when their birthday treat rolled around.
Although the birthday event didn't go as smoothly as planned, there was something suspiciously familiar about the castle to River. Many of the royal jewels displayed that they saw on their tour of the castle were placeablly familiar and rang a bell in the back of her mind.
It wasn't until the heat got to her that she remembered where she had seen the craftsmanship style before: the Golden Crown of Terra. Unfortunately, there wasn't actually an opportunity to look for the artifact let alone ask about it. It was worth investigating again if she had the time, but River fell ill before she could do more than write the thought in her diary.
The idea of an investigation stayed only an idea until several months after Arthur was born.
River was shifting through her diary, looking for something to distract her from the impending conversation of trying for another baby, when she found her notes. She had been eager for another adventure and surely the Doctor wouldn't notice if she used the TARDIS to slip away and do some investigating later that night.
There were a number of errands to do between then and that night. The girls had to be picked up and dinner had to be made, not to mention that Arthur took up a lot of both parents' attention. The Doctor was happy to have his son pawned off on him, though, and did volunteer to make dinner.
River didn't get around to going out until after the rest of her family had gone to bed. She waited until she was sure the Doctor was asleep before slipping out of bed and going to the TARDIS.
The ship had already turned the breaks to silent for her daughter, used to the many times in the past when River had borrowed her. "That's my girl," River smiled, setting the coordinates and then going to change into appropriate attire.
The TARDIS silently materialized in a forgotten corner of the castle River brought the twins to on their last birthday. River made sure the TARDIS was cloaked before silently stepping out.
Tip toeing through the halls so she wouldn't get caught, she searched for some sign of the Crown, thinking it must be on display somewhere.
The castle seemed bigger than the last time she was here, probably because she wasn't just sticking to the main corridors. The guards were mainly posted there, though a few of them paced through the rest of the place. Luckily, there many crevices and dips in the hallway to hide in when a guard came by.
River smiled, happy that she was able to sneak around despite being so out of practice.
The castle was a bit nicer when not being described by a megalomaniacal king. The man may have overestimated the number of swords in the armory and the amount of equipment in the kitchens, but it was still better than expected.
River was growing more and more impatient, unable to find the Crown despite wandering through a good portion of the castle. She opened another doorway, thinking it would lead her down another quiet hallway. Behind the door was actually a library, small compared to what the TARDIS could provide. It did, however, have a good book smell to it on top of all the dust. It didn't seem to have been used much any time recently.
River dipped out of the room, thinking she surely wouldn't find the Crown in there. However, she kept it in mind, planning to go back if she had time.
After wandering for another painfully long time, there came a door that was chained closed. It also happened to have a guard standing watch.
River huffed in frustration, turning to go back the way she came, knowing she probably wouldn't be able to get past the guard without psychic paper or a blaster, which she had left in the TARDIS.
The blue box had the items River needed waiting for her on the jump seat in a bigger-on-the-inside clutch purse. She grabbed the bag off the jump seat and ran out of the TARDIS.
She was so close to the Crown she could almost taste it, and the taste was very distracting.
Just as she rounded a corner, she crashed into someone.
A man in night robe sat before her, rubbing his head. He was a scruffy looking man with very greasy looking, red hair. He looked up at her, shock covering his expression before any words formed.
River stared at him for a moment, not knowing who he was. "Pardon me, very sorry sir."
He soon glared. "What are you doing in here!?"
"I'm looking for the King." She blurted out, not really knowing where she was going with this, but figuring a plan could come later, "He is a very dear friend of mine. I must see him immediately."
"I can assure you that you and I are not good friends! How did you get in my castle? It's the middle of the night!"
"Your majesty!" River was surprised, having remembered him differently, "I beg your pardon. It's so dark and I cannot see very well." She bowed, "The guards let me in, but I suppose you don't remember me. I came to visit you a few months back, Queen River."
He started to look just a tad flustered, realizing he wasn't wearing his usual, overly flashy, royal attire. "Why are you here and why couldn't this wait until morning?"
"I...well..." She tried to think of something that he would believe. Recalling how arrogant and overly flirtatious he had been, she said the first thing that came to mind, "I couldn't bare to be apart from you any longer. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since our visit." She knew she sounded a bit crazy, but she hoped the king was arrogant enough to pass it off as helpless love.
He clearly hadn't been expecting that sort of answer, but obviously believed her on some level. "I will not say you haven't been in my thoughts as well. You seemed so animus of me at the end of your visit."
Right, she had forgotten that she had yelled at him before they left, "Well...yes. But it was only because… my immediate feelings for you were confusing to me and they frightened me. I took that fear out on you and regret it deeply."
"Does your king know you're here?"
"No." She shook her head, "When I expressed the desire to see you again, he threatened me so I had to run away. That is why I'm here in the middle of the night." Another terrible lie but if he had bought what she was feeding him so far, he'd buy this too.
"Do you need protection?" He asked, jumping at the possibility to be a knight in shining armor to her.
"Yes, will you protect me?"
He nodded, soaking up her damsel in distress ruse. "You may take refuge in my castle. You must be tired from coming all this way." He offered her an arm. "I'll wake the servants and have them prepare you a room."
"Oh, thank you so much. It's so very kind of you." She batted her eyes at him.
They went through the halls, away from the room River had originally been trying to get to, as the King loudly woke servants from their sleep. She followed behind him, deciding she would do more investigating in the morning.
In short enough time, River was offered a nightgown and told where the bathrooms were before the servants left wearily back to their own beds. The King offered to help River with what she needed.
"Well, if you're offering, I wouldn't mind if you helped me with my dress." She murmured.
"Of course." The man was much too happy to have River show more skin.
"You know, you're more handsome than I remember." She commented.
"I'm sure your memory has served my image well. And you..." He stared at her form, now in just a thin slip. "...are just as stunning."
"Oh, well I'm glad you think so." She smiled, "I do hope my stay will allow us to become...closer."
He was utterly captured by her, hanging on every word, and taking a step closer. It wasn't the ideal plan, but it certainly guaranteed that River wouldn't be beheaded anytime soon.
"I think that I can manage from here." She smiled, "Goodnight."
"Do you not want me to stay?" He frowned, somewhat out of his daze.
She shook her head, realizing she had said the wrong thing, "No, of course, I want you to stay."
He gazed at the newly made bed, then back at her. "I can… watch over you and keep you safe."
"I that all?" She raised an eyebrow.
His eyes were dark and he grinned a bit more flirtatiously before reaching up her grab her face and pull their lips together. She jumped in surprise, nearly pushing him away.
She was going to have to find a way to get her hallucinogenic lipstick on. It didn't seem like the King had any plans of letting River go, pulling her closer. Her purse was on the bed and the lipstick was in her purse. If she could just discreetly get to get purse…
He started pushing her backward towards the bed pretty quickly, clearly eager. She fell back on the bed, reaching for her purse. Unfortunately, he noticed. "There is nothing in there you need."
"I just wanted to freshen up for you." She smiled.
"Oh," He took the bait easily. "Please, do."
She grabbed her purse, pulling out her lipstick and putting a good coat on. He wasn't sure what the small metal tube was supposed to be but didn't waste time questioning it, wanting her lips back. She hauled him to her, eager to get him dazed so he would leave her alone. He kissed her messily, then promptly flopped back onto the bed, the large dose of hallucinogens sure to keep him out long enough for him to fall asleep.
River sighed, dragging him so he was placed correctly. She then changed and slipped under the blankets, formulating a plan instead of sleeping for the rest of the night.
Leaving him wasn't exactly an option. If he woke up to an empty bed, he would automatically know she'd been lying to save her own skin, not to mention if she got caught trying to get into that locked room again he'd kill her. His blind lust for her, though, was a big advantage and she knew it. There was the possibility of her making a break for the TARDIS and trying to land in the room, but a blind landing could mean she'd end up in a wall.
There was, of course, the Doctor to think about, who she had tiptoed around the subject of having another baby with, but she wasn't ready to think about that just yet. What better way to procrastinate and put off the conversation than to have a little fun on an adventure. As the hours ticked by, she set the pieces for her plan, figuring out just how she was going to have the crown eventually handed to her on a silver platter.
Dawn peeked through the windows at around six in the morning, though without a clock it was hard to be absolutely sure.
The servants had got up an hour ago and could be heard going back and forth through the halls, though none of them bothered River and the King yet. There was, however, the occasional whisper outside the door about the pair inside the room.
River had fallen into a few small and very light naps, though she still ended up awake long before the King. She stayed beside him in bed, pretending to be asleep every time she thought she heard him waking.
He finally woke when a servant knocked on the door.
"Your majesty?"
River shut her eyes, keeping her breathing light.
The King snarled to the door, "What is it? What do you want?"
A boy poked his head in. "The kitchens say they've made you and your guest breakfast. Would you like us to bring it in?"
"Yes, fine, bring it in. But be quiet about it. And quick! I don't want to have to wait." He growled. The boy hurried off as the King sat up. He clearly wasn't much of a morning person.
River slowly opened her eyes, stretching a bit as if she were just waking up. The King stared at her, mind in his false memories of last night.
She looked up at him and smiled, "Good morning."
He skipped the polite greeting. "I presume last night was pleasurable for you?"
"Very much so." She purred, not even wanting to imagine the things he pictured.
"You have many hidden talents." He smirked. "How did you learn to do such things?"
She shrugged, "That's for me to know and for you to find out."
He grabbed her hand and kissed her palm. "Preferably, soon."
"I assure you it will be." She smiled, trying very hard not to be repulsed. "Now did I hear a promise of breakfast?"
"It should be here by now." He sounded irritated that it wasn't, though it had only been minutes.
"Well, perhaps I could distract you until it gets here." She offered, tightening her fingers around the metal tube of lipstick in her hand.
He gave an eager nod, moving closer to her. She put on a fresh coat of lipstick, kissing his neck. He made a hum, then made a very odd trumpet-y noise before becoming very loopy.
She straddled his hips, holding his face so he was looking at her, "Now, I want you to keep in mind just how much you like me. And you like me so much, you're going to want to give me something later today." She murmured, hoping he was loopy enough for this to work.
He puckered his lips. "Anything, dear queen." She grinned, pressing a kiss to his lips.
He closed his eyes blissfully, murmuring, "Marry me."
"Of course, I will, my darling." She kissed him again, hoping to knock him out this time. He didn't exactly fall of conscious but was clearly in a different reality.
A servant knocked on the door with breakfast. River jumped off the King and went to hold the door shut, not wanting anyone walking in to find him as out of it as he currently was. Not really knowing what else to do, she made a series of profane noises, hoping to scare off whoever was on the other side of the door.
A moment of hesitation later there came footsteps hurrying away from the door.
River crawled back to the bed, stripping the King of his clothes and then doing the same to herself before slipping back into bed. If she wanted him to keep believing the things he was seeing, she would have to at least make it look like they had done something.
The King twitched in his dream for another twenty minutes before relaxing and slowing coming out of his daze. River pulled the blankets around her once more, hoping that everything looked just right.
He lazily rolled on his side to face her. "How could you have stayed away for so long?"
"I don't know, my love." She trailed a finger along his jaw, "Did you really mean it when you asked me to marry you?"
He blinked, trying to remember saying that, then rolled them over so he was draped over her. "Yes. You no longer have to belong to that other man. Stay with me here."
"Well, I'll have to go back to collect my things, but nothing would please me more than to be here with you." She almost gagged on the words.
"Are you not afraid of what he might do if you return?"
"Not with you as my sworn protector." She murmured, batting her eyes at him, "But I won't go back until after we've been married."
He looked genuinely glad, kissing her jaw. "I shall make you happy. And we will have a joyous ceremony for all my subjects to attend."
"All your subjects?" She frowned slightly, "Can't we just...elope?"
He didn't seem keen on this idea. "It's traditional for there to be a ball at royal weddings."
She didn't want to have to actually marry him, and if there was a huge wedding ceremony then she would probably have to do that. "But I don't want to have to wait." She pouted, "I want us to be married now. Think of how romantic it would be."
"Romantic? Eloping if for children who are disobeying their parents and their Gods."
She wiggled beneath his weight, "But I don't want a big wedding." She could sense a fight coming on, but she wasn't going to let him get his way.
He mulled this over in his small brain and sighed. "I would like a ball... but perhaps the exchanging of the rings themselves can be just between us and the priest and the ball can be after."
Surprised by the compromise, she agreed, "Alright, but it must happen soon."
"I can have it arranged by the week's end." He boasted.
"That's not soon enough, but I suppose I can settle." She murmured, nudging his jaw with her nose.
"Good." He murmured. "Now where is breakfast?"
"I think they came while we were occupied and my cries scared them off."
"You are quite a screamer." He chuckled against her neck.
"Well, you're quite talented." She lied, leaning back to expose her neck for him.
He slobbered over her skin for a moment. "Still, I must punish the kitchen staff for this."
"Do what you must, my love." She murmured. River wasn't here to change his ways, just to get the Crown.
With a few more kisses, he rose from the bed and got his clothes on. "I'll return soon."
"What shall I do while you're gone?"
"Keep the bed warm for me, my dear."
"Of course, darling." She waited until he had gone before getting out of bed to get dressed.
There was a distant yelling from the King scolding the cooks, indicating the kitchen was not a place she wanted to be. If she was with him for another minute she was afraid she might kill him. She was perfectly fine waiting here for now.
It had been fast, the 'sex' and the proposal, but River had that effect most men. And women. And to be honest, every other variation of gender or lack thereof that there was in the universe. Fast, on the other hand, hopefully, meant she didn't have to play housewife to a plainly horrid man for too long.