The second sun rose in the south, the light causing the forests that covered the mountains to shine. The young boy, whose room was where the forest light shined the brightest, was not awoken however. He was already awake and sitting on the bed, staring out the window. Today was his eighth birthday, the day he would be taken for Initiation.
The sound of small footsteps made him turn his head towards the door. It opened and a small girl stepped into the room. "Theta?" She walked over to him, a stuffed animal in her arms.
"What are you doing awake?" Theta asked her, watching as she jumped onto the bed beside him. "It's early."
The girl fell against his arm, clutching him. "You're leaving today. I want to spend as much time with you as I can." She curled her legs up.
Theta smiled, tickling the top of her head. She giggled. "Even Koschei didn't want to do that."
The girl giggled harder. "You're going to be seeing him all the time at the Academy. He's coming later; he told me yesterday. He's going to go with you and Papa when he brings you to the Academy because his papa is busy. Papa made me stay home with Mamma." She seemed sad about not being about to go with him. "You'll write me, won't you?"
"Of course I will Iota." He pulled her into a hug. "I'll write you every day."
"And you'll come visit me every chance you have?" Iota looked up at him, her eyes wide.
Theta laughed. "You didn't act like this when Braxiatel left!" He stood and pulled her with him.
"I don't like him as much. And I was only one!" Theta began to tickle her again, causing her to burst out laughing.
-I-
A woman's screams echoed through the house. No one who lived there attempted to sleep that night. Even the two year old boy who had been able to sleep through any storm or noise that ravaged the house sat awake, staring into the darkness.
His door slid open. "Theta?" The young boy's older brother appeared in the doorway. "Mamma is asking for you."
Theta pushed himself out of his bed. He shuffled over to where his brother waited. "Is she still screaming?"
Their mother's scream answered Theta's question. Braxiatel took his arm and pulled him down the hall. They followed her screams through the house until they entered the room.
Her hair was pressed damply on her head, spread out on the bed around her. Her breathing was hard and she continued to scream. Theta and Braxiatel approached slowly. She opened her eyes and held out her hand towards Theta.
"Hello Theta." His mother smiled. "I thought you might want to meet your sister when she arrives." She clenched her hand as she screamed again. Her breathing quickened. "I know the two of you will be close."
Theta shifted where he stood, hating how she clutched his wrist. "But won't I have to leave when you give her her name?"
His mother laughed. "It's not like I will announce it to the room. I will be whispering it to her. But I want you to see her when she's born." She screamed again before lowering her voice. It still sounded like she was straining. "I feel like it's right that you'd be here."
There was a gasp. "I see the head!"
His mother clenched her teeth and went silent, pushing as hard as she could. She clutched his hand until there was the sound of something crying. His mother gasped in joy. The rest of the room went silent. The first word the child would hear was to be her name, whispered to her by her mother.
Swaddled in a shimmering red fabric, the child was brought to its mother's arms. The only way she looked different from other new-born children was the small, dark, bird shaped birthmark flying on her tiny collarbone. She lowered her head to the girl's ear and whispered. Instinctively, Theta covered his ears. He watched in silence as his mother pulled away and kissed his sister on her head. She nodded gently to Theta before looking back to his sister.
"You have been gifted your name from the vortex of time itself. It will be your protection from the darkness and the greatest secret you've ever known. Your name defines you and shapes you. It is what you must protect with all your life." She kissed her daughter again. "You may share your name with others of your choice, but only those worthy will hear it." She pushed a small amount of hair off her daughter's head. "My second gift to you is the name you shall be called by others. This is the name you must speak until you have chosen your title. That name is Iota Xi."
Iota had been quiet as her names were given to her. Her eyes were closed and her small mouth was open in a slight circle. It was only when his mother finished that she opened her mouth again to cry.
The second time her crying was different. Her voice no longer scratched at Theta's ears and made him want to cringe. It had gained a different element to it, as though hearing her names had changed her very being.
A maid brought forward the plain wooden crib that had been waiting to the side. A bed of deep blue cloth covered the bottom. His mother gently placed Iota inside. As soon as Iota touched it a wooden wall with her tiny hand, golden writing appeared on the end. It displayed her second name, Iota Xi, to the world. There was a single solid circle at the end that represented her first name. Stars appeared on the mobile above her head. They hit each other gently, but no sound came from them.
Iota stopped her crying; instead, she stared up at the mobile as if it made a song only she could hear.
-I-
Iota was forcibly separated from Theta when they both had to change into the proper clothing for the Initiation. He was forced to dress in the official clothing while she had to wear a robe more complicated than normal. Her blonde hair was forced into two buns on either side of her head, pulled tightly. When she was finally released, she went to sit outside his room.
Theta emerged from the room, adjusting the collar. Iota jumped up and looked him up and down. "You look funny." She giggled and poked him.
Theta poked her as well. "You look funny too. What did they do to your hair?"
"I don't know. It hurts. And I'm not even going to Initiation." She shook her head it an attempt to dislodge it. "But I heard that Koschei's here. One of the maids said he's waiting outside with Papa."
Theta rushed past her, heading in the direction of the door. It took a long time, but eventually the two children emerged into the red grass. Wind pulled at both of their hair, yanking at the wisps of hair that floated out of Iota's buns.
Koschei rushed towards the two of them, entrapping Theta into a hug. He was wearing a similar outfit to Theta, but slightly different. They were able to go to Initiation in the same year even though Koschei was almost a year older.
Iota stood with her arms crossed beside her brother. Koschei turned to look at her after the hug ended. "I like your robe."
"I hate it." Iota shrugged. "It's irritating."
Koschei laughed. "Just wait until your Initiation. The robes get even worse." He hugged her as well.
They all glanced at Theta's and Iota's father, who preferred they called him by his title Ulysses, making sure he wasn't preparing to leave. He was talking to Koschei's father, ignoring the children.
"Are you going to keep yourself out of trouble while we're away?" Koschei asked her.
He and Theta had always taken it upon themselves to protect her from the other children who lived in the estates around them. Iota had a tendency to start a fight by making an innocent comment that would anger the children around her, but her small size meant the other children always overpowered her. Once Theta figured out what was happening to her, he employed Koschei to assist him in protecting her. Every time Iota went to visit the other estates, she was forced by the two of them to always have one of them with her. As the years passed, Iota learned it would be better to stay away from the other estates.
Iota pulled herself tall. "I can take care of myself now. I'm six." She said it with pride, but her brother and Koschei laughed. "What?" She glared at them.
"Nothing." They both spoke at once.
"Theta Sigma and Koschei!" All three turned to look at Ulysses. He gestured for the two to come over. They gave Iota another hug each before going over to him.
The rest of the household came out as well, surrounding Iota. Her mother came over and rested her hand on Iota's shoulder. They all watched as the three men began their journey to the Academy. Her father worked there, so he would remain there with Theta and Koschei, leaving Iota alone.
Before she lost sight of them, Iota ran forward. "Theta!" Theta turned around to look at her. All three stopped. "Find me when I get to the Academy!"
She knew he was coming home at some point while she waited to turn eight, but she couldn't help herself. Braxiatel came home for a few days every two years before going back. Her father came back more commonly, but it was still rare.
Theta smiled. "Don't worry! I will!" He waved one last time before turning back around.
-I-
"Iota!" She turned around in surprise as Theta burst through the door. His face was flushed and there was a strange boy following him. "I want you to meet Koschei. I meet him today."
The brown haired boy stepped forward, smiling in welcome. "Hi."
She crossed her arms. "I've seen you before. You have pretty fields by your house. I go there every day to play."
Koschei raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"I like exploring and I saw your pretty fields, so I went there to play. The red is a pretty shade. I saw you a few days ago reading. I watched you for a bit before going home."
Both boys looked impressed. "I didn't see you."
Iota smiled widely. "I'm good at hiding. Theta can tell you; I always beat him at hide and seek."
"Do you want to play with us?" Theta asked her. He knew that she had no one to play with, being one of the youngest children around where they lived. Even the children a year older than her didn't want her to play with them.
She began to bounce up and down on her feet. "Yes please. Can we play hide and seek? I want to show Koschei how good I am!"
Theta nodded and Iota rushed off, already beginning to play. Koschei and Theta exchanged a glance before running after her, the two already deciding that both would attempt to find her.
It took till the end of the day to find her.
-I-
Even when Koschei and Theta were away at the Academy, Iota went to play in the fields by Koschei's estate. Even though there were fields by her own home, she liked Koschei's more. The sun sparkled on it in a different way that made it even more beautiful.
She snuck into Theta's room and pulled his collection of books from the wall, spreading them on the floor. Every day she picked one of them and ran to the fields to read it. The ones she chose tended to be that of songs, ones that Theta himself rarely touched.
Iota was sitting there, singing one of the songs out loud, when the sounds of two people running caused her to look up. Two boys were rushing towards her, large smiles on their faces as they did so. They looked different, but she knew who they were.
"Theta! Koschei!" She jumped up and ran to them, letting Theta pull her into his arms and lift her into the air. "You came back!"
Koschei laughed. "Of course we did. This is the year of your Initiation; we wanted to tell you what it was like."
She jumped onto Koschei as well, holding him tightly. "Thank you so much for coming back. I missed you." Then she pulled away, glaring at them. "You never sent me any letters."
Theta looked down sheepishly. "We wanted to send you them, but we weren't allowed." Koschei pulled a pile of papers out of his pocket and handed it to her. "We did write to you and we kept them all."
Iota's eyes brightened, holding the letters tightly. For the two years she had been alone, she had looked every day for some correspondence from her brother. But every day, there was nothing. She couldn't help but feel like they had abandoned her.
Theta looked over her shoulder at the book resting on the ground. He furrowed his brow. "Is that mine?"
Iota blushed, bending down and picking it up. "Yes. I've been reading your books while you've been gone." She held it back out to him. "I'm sorry."
Both boys looked in confusion at the book. "Why is this a book about songs?" Koschei asked her, raising his eyebrows.
Iota's blush deepened. "I really like the songs."
"Do you sing them?" Theta asked her. She nodded. "Can you show us?"
Violently, she shook her head. "No. I don't want to."
"Why not?" Koschei asked her, crossing his arms. "You clearly like the songs; I mean, you're reading a book that not even Theta touched."
Theta held out a hand. "Leave her alone. She doesn't have to sing if she doesn't want too."
Koschei shrugged. "Whatever. I just thought she might want to take pride in the songs."
Instead of paying attention to what the two of them were saying, Iota focused her attention on the flutterwing that danced past her head. Theta was forced to snap right in her face to bring her back to them.
"Let's not argue anymore. I want to make up for not seeing you for two years." He smiled down at her. "Want to play hide and seek?"
She hadn't played the game for the longest time. Mamma never wanted to play with her and she could never convince the servants to play. So when her brother suggested it himself, her smile reminded them of the second sun.
A/N: I began this story during Camp NaNoWriMo and I kind of fell in love with it. Please tell me what you think so far; I currently have over two hundred pages written up.
July 2017 EDIT: I am well aware that it is generally agreed that Time Lords are Loomed, not physically born. But, as is evident by this chapter and later ones, I have chosen to ignore this fact for this story. I have also never seen Old Who (currently just starting in honor of the 2017 Christmas special), so there will undoubtedly be mistakes throughout this with regards to that, as I wrote the entirety of this story with just the Doctor Who wiki.
Iota Xi, in her first regeneration, looks similar to Carrie Hope Fletcher.
Thank you again and I hope you enjoy this story.