AN: WARNING: This chapter has mentions of rape. If this may trigger you, I will put a "DWDWDW" where it is safe to start reading again. And thanks again for the reviews and follows, I really appreciate it. :)
Previously:
"I suppose you both should know the truth," Rose said, her resolve starting to break. She took a deep breath and started to explain herself to the two people who cared deeply about her.
"Martha, do you remember Prince James of the Stone Kingdom?" Rose asked quietly.
"The one who stayed here for a few weeks? That was only a few years ago, right?" Martha replied and then her eyes widened. "That was right before...before we stopped talking."
"Yes, Martha. It was," Rose told her, as Martha began to connect the dots. "He was so charming and kind. He courted me for those weeks and told me he loved me. He told me we would get married and be happy. And I trusted him."
Martha stepped closer to Rose and put a comforting hand on her shoulder as tears began to fall down Rose's face. "Rose, what happened?"
"That last night, he told me that he wanted to be with me, in every way. I told him I wanted to wait for us to be married but he got angry. And he took me anyway. The next morning, he was gone. My father told me that Prince James had only planned on staying those few weeks, never any more. He also told me that James was engaged to another," Rose cried, finally letting the tears she had kept in so long out.
John stood in front of her, motionless. He was so angry, angrier than he had ever been in his life. But he didn't show it. He didn't want to upset Rose anymore than she already was.
"Rose, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I didn't realize or do anything to help you," Martha told her, "If I had just tried harder to speak to you, maybe things would be different."
"It's alright, Martha. I've gotten over it in the past years. I just haven't told anyone before and it was harder to say than I thought it would be," Rose said, wiping the tears from her face. "Besides, it has taught me that men can say the most beautiful, promising things one moment, and the next, they show their true selves. Men only take advantage of women to get what they want."
"Please, princess, don't believe that," the Doctor pleaded. "Rose, don't let one bad experience with one man keep you from loving another. I would never dare to hurt you in such a way. It angers me and breaks my heart all at once to hear what has happened to you."
"Oh, Doctor. You don't understand," Rose said bitterly. "My mother always suspected what had happened to me. Just two months after he came here, James was suddenly banished from his own kingdom and his engagement ended. Not many knew what happened, but I suspect my mother had something to do with it."
"Rose, that's good that he was punished. Can't you see that what he did to you is not tolerated?" Martha asked, confused by her friend's bitterness.
"After the incident, my mother showed me a book of our ancestors, to help me comfort me, I suppose." Rose told Martha and the Doctor, "She told me of my great-grandmother. She was a kind and caring queen who trusted men naively, just as I did. But one day, her kingdom was taken over and dominated by the cruelest of men. She was raped like I was by James, but it ended worse for her. They then murdered her."
"That's awful," Martha gasped, and the Doctor nodded in agreement.
"Yes, it is. But I will learn from my great-grandmother and her mistake in being too trusting. I will let no other man posses me," Rose said angrily and adamantly.
DWDWDWDW
"Rose-" the Doctor started, but was interrupted by the doors opening. King Peter, Queen Jacqueline, and Sarah Jane all walked in, looking at the three nervously.
"Are we all ready to continue now?" King Peter asked.
Before anyone else could speak, Rose quickly spoke up and said, "Yes, we have all said enough," looking sternly at the Doctor.
"Alright," the king replied, "Doctor, have you changed your mind? Will you withdraw your request for Rose's hand in marriage?"
"No, your highness, I still desire to court her," The Doctor said firmly.
The King and Queen looked at him nervously while Sarah Jane and Martha looked extremely upset with the Doctor's answer.
"Then let's start the riddles right away," Rose stated. "The quicker we get this over with, the better."
"I'm ready to start," The Doctor told her, looking at her softly, but she refused to meet his gaze.
"Alright, Doctor, tell me this; what is born each night and dies each dawn?" Rose said smugly, as no one had ever made it past the first riddle.
The Doctor thought for a moment, before replying, "Hope."
Rose looked at him, surprised. Sarah Jane looked at him proudly and addressed the princess, "Is he correct?" Rose could only nod.
"Well, Doctor, I suppose you are more clever than the others. And it is always the clever ones who are the best liars," Rose snapped at him. "Let's see if you know the next one too. What flickers red and warm like a flame, but is not fire?"
Again, the Doctor only had to think for a moment before he responded, "Blood."
Rose looked livid. But the Doctor could see that behind her anger was fear and he knew that she was beginning to worry. Rose glanced over to everyone else in the room and glared at their smiling faces. She tried her best to reign in her anger so she could deliver the final riddle. Her parents, Martha and Sarah Jane would not be smiling anymore once the Doctor failed to pass the final test.
"You think you're so impressive Doctor." Rose said, and he gave her a teasing smirk. "If you are as impressive as you think then answer this. What is the ice which gives you fire and which your fire freezes still more?"
As the moments ticked by, Rose's smug grin grew. She started to smile just as the grins of the room's other occupants began to fade. The Doctor continued to stare at her, becoming more panicked.
"Well, Doctor," Rose taunted, "Do you have your answer?"
The Doctor didn't reply, but simple stared into her cold eyes. The vulnerability in them from when she had told him her story had been replaced by coldness yet again. He couldn't help the flash of desire he felt when he looked at her, as she taunted him with her rather revealing red dress. The Doctor's eyes widened as he came to a realization. He knew the answer.
"I do have an answer," He said confidently, "It's you, Princess Rose. You are the ice that fuels my fire. But the more I come to love and desire you, the colder you become towards me."
The room fell silent at the Doctor's words. But with one look at Rose, who stood there frozen in shock, the Doctor's grin grew larger and he knew that he was correct.