Chapter 1

"You cannot be serious," Clara's eyes bulged, "That's the key to Eden?"

The Doctor looked askance, "It is the closest single word in the English language. Fel-har-dai literally translated would be garden eternal life, but if you look at the original transcripts, which I have studied in detail, it was called Felrani harmoxia estradai, the garden of dangerous beauty where life is eternal."

"Fel-har-dai," Clara opted for a more succinct name. "And we stole the key to it because...?"

"I heard a rumour that someone knew what the key was and how to use it."

"Okay, and it wasn't the person we stole it from, so what do you plan to do with it?"

Shaking his head the Doctor hung the key carefully over a lever on the TARDIS console, his fingers brushing it very gently.

"I am going to destroy it," he answered quietly. "I cannot presume that I will always be strong enough to resist its power. I am capable of terrible things, Clara, worse by far than any human because I understand what Fel-har-dai could offer."

Clara moved slowly around the console and came to a rest beside the Doctor. She was drawn to the key, its beautiful simplicity. She reached out and the Doctor caught her hand, drawing her away from it.

"Didn't you wonder how you found it in that bar? Without knowing what you were looking for? Without knowing what it looked like or who claimed it as their possession?"

Clara nodded but said nothing.

"They key is designed to reach out to those who search for it. It is a rare form of psychic beacon. It doesn't control your thoughts but it tempts you, draws you closer. I can resist it because my senses are different to yours, more developed..."

Clara opened her mouth to object but he carried on talking, still not letting go of her hand.

"...and for once I'm not insulting humans for my own amusement. Humans and Timelords are simply genetically different, despite my outward appearance my blood, my cells, my brain… they are all structured in ways that are fundamentally alien to you. For a Timelord this key is multidimensional. I can feel it in my mind. The moment we walked into the bar it began glowing inside my head, I could almost smell it. You aren't even aware that you are being drawn in, are you?"

She closed her eyes and concentrated. There was no beacon, just a vague thought that the key was pretty, an item she would like to hold. Nodding her acceptance Clara stepped slightly away from the key and pulled her focus back to the Doctor.

"Does it have to be destroyed? Its just a legend after all, how do you know that Fel-har-dai holds some secret of the universe?"

Before the Doctor could answer the TARDIS lurched. The central column began to pump furiously and there was a terrifying wrenching sound that rattled the room around them. Flung sideways, Clara grabbed hold of the nearest piece of handrail at the bottom of the stairs and held on as the time machine bucked and tilted like a fairground ride. The Doctor swung himself back to the controls and after trying several different buttons eventually threw off the handbrake causing the TARDIS to perform one last heave before rapidly accelerating. With the worst of the shaking over Clara ran to a monitor watching for anything familiar to appear.

"We're being dragged through space," the Doctor called to her, "We've been pulled out of the space time vortex and we're hurtling through..." he winced as he read the display above Clara's head, "We're currently hurtling through an asteroid field. I hope the shields are up."

There was a phenomenal surge of power, the lights flickered and went out, leaving only the glow of the central column as it pounded relentlessly, not in its usual sedate and reassuring manner but like a steam engine running out of control, wheezing and screeching as it moved.

"Brace yourself!" the Doctor shouted above the noise but there was nothing substantial to hold.

With a final twist the TARDIS seemed to rotate vertically through 360 degrees, Clara's stomach clenched, the Doctor threw himself towards the handrail, missed and as the TARDIS bounced into land he found himself lying uncomfortably on the steps with Clara in a heap under one of the secondary control panels.

The central column's light steadied to a faint glow and the emergency power flicked on. Clara rolled onto her back expelling a deep breath, her head spinning. The Doctor adopted a seated position on the steps for a second, taking in the situation then stalked over to the console. Clara gave him a thumbs up and the Doctor gave a brief nod. No broken bones.

"What the hell was that?" Clara clambered to her feet and joined the Doctor by the scanners. Unconsciously she ran her hand across the key that was now lying lose on the controls.

"Apparently someone wanted our attention."

Scowling he spun around and ran out of the TARDIS door. Adrenalin pumping, Clara grinned and sprinted after him.

Outside the TARDIS the air was warm and the light a hazy gold. Blinking in the brightness Clara sought out the Doctor who stood with his back to her looking at a rough white stone wall. He was close enough to the stone to touch it and he cautiously laid one hand on the cold structure, closing his eyes and listening intently. Clara moved to speak but he raised his other hand and she held the silence until he withdrew from the wall and slipped his sonic sunglasses from his pocket.

"Where are we?" Clara asked, though a feeling of excitement in her stomach told her she already knew.

"Fel-har-dai," the Doctor said shortly. His agitation apparent on his taut face he scanned the wall with his sonic shades and his lips drew into a thin line.

"What's wrong?" Clara drew in line with this shoulder, her proximity making his tension ease slightly.

"Probably nothing," he put away the glasses with a touch of bravado, "We'll just have a look around while we're here."

"Which way?"

The Doctor looked left and right along the wall which stretched as far as they could see in both directions. Neither left nor right had any discernible merits. With a damp finger, moistened briefly in his mouth, the Doctor felt for a breeze in any direction. Clara slipped her hand through his arm.

"I have a good feeling about left," she told him, "If you're just taking a stab in the dark that is."

They turned left following the wall which ran perfectly straight along a narrow path. It was three stories high, curling over a the top at an improbable angle and every stone seemed to shimmer as they drew near it. The Doctor was strangely silent as they began walking, his eyes fixed firmly forward, his pace unusually slow.

"Doctor, what's inside the wall?"

Clara's voice brought him out of his reverie.

"Exactly? I don't know," he paused. "What do you know about the myth of eternal life?"

She shook her head, "Not my forte. Every culture has its own I suppose, the holy grail springs to mind."

"Yes, yes, yes, but that's just a fairy tale..."

"And the difference between a fairy tale and a myth is?"

"That's not important right now," he said quickly, "The point is the legends, the myths, many of them talk about a fruit that will supposedly grant immortality with varying combinations of eternal youth, rejuvenation and rebirth. There are tales on every sentient planet in every universe about the trials of an ancient who sought the tree of life, the elixir of youth, the fruit of the gods. No-one ever wants to die."

"And that's what's behind this wall? A garden of fruit that might give you eternal life?" Clara's eyes widened, "Not possible!"

A dark look crossed the Doctor's face, "Immortality is not impossible, just incredibly unlikely. It has been fashioned by mortal hand."

Clara drew a long slow breath and let it out steadily.

"This is about Ashildr."

He looked away from her. "No. Not precisely."

Clara's hand caught his arm forcing him to stop.

"You've been brooding about Ashildr since the minute we left her village. That was... that was weeks ago for me, how long ago was it for you?"

There was a non-committal shrug and an eventual admission, "I lost track, maybe six months."

"And you've been spending your time investigating immortality myths because you want to what? Stop any more immortals being created? How many immortals do you know that you are so sure this is the right thing to do?"

Clara's tone held disbelief and the Doctor rankled at the sound.

"I have known one or two that are cursed with the inability to die, or at least to stay dead. You don't understand, Clara. I am afraid I made a terrible mistake reviving Ashildr. No-one is supposed to live forever, no-one deserves that kind of ..."

"..luck?"

"...punishment. You're an English teacher, you must have read A Picture of Dorian Gray. Wilde was perceptive man. It's hard for an immortal to remain…compassionate. When everything you love dies, not once but over and over again, when there are no lasting consequences to your actions… what is there to fuel your desire for life, love?"

Clara's brow knotted. "But you've been alive for centuries and you've not lost your passion."

An ironic smile flickered across his lips. Oh, Clara Oswald, he thought, I have lost more than you could ever know.

"We are not talking about Timelords, Clara. Longevity for my kind is natural. Death, however, comes to us all."

"Okay, okay, I'll buy that," Clara agreed, "But I know you can't undo what you did, the whole not crossing your own time-line end of the universe scenario. So what now? You didn't intend to come here but the key clearly had other ideas."

"We are just having a look around. Make sure everything is secure."

"And then?"

He walked on without answering.

Clara threw her hands up in frustration and let him go. There were times when it was better to say nothing. She looked around properly for the first time since they had arrived. The golden light was low in the sky and it was hard to see in any direction but it seemed as though there was nothing around them, no plants, not ocean, no sand or earth, only a light that stretched into infinity. Clara stepped backwards to rest on the wall and yelped in surprise as the structure gave way behind her.

By the time the Doctor was beside her Clara was back on her feet dusting off her trousers. Where the wall had been there was now a gaping hole. Bent bronze gates hung off their rusted hinges and large white stones that had once been part of the wall littered the ground. Behind the gates trees 150 metres tall blotted out the golden light and a smell of decay wafted unpleasantly from the forest floor.

"Did the legends say anything about being able to find the place without the key?" Clara asked, walking boldly toward the open gate.

The Doctor shook his head, "No, but apparently somebody did."

"And came equipped with enough fire power to blast their way in," Clara looked back at the Doctor who's face was pale and grim. For a moment Clara thought he looked almost afraid.

"Clara," he spoke quietly, looking at the ground rather than meeting her eyes, "Perhaps you should wait for me in the TARDIS."

He received no reply and when he finally raised his eyes Clara was walking through the gap in the gates and on into the darkness.