CHAPTER 10

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A LIFE ALTERING DECISION

Arkytior headed toward her mother's house ready for a confrontation with her about Theta. She truly didn't want to fight with her, but she also didn't want to lose Theta either. She was afraid that she was going to lose her forever over this, but she had to take a stand against her. If she didn't, then she would lose her one true shot at happiness forever. Theta was the only one who she wanted to be with for the rest of her lives. There was no one else, and there never would be.

As she finally stood outside of the house, she hesitated. She stood there trying to gather her courage as she prepared for what would probably be the most important conversation of her life.

At that moment, a friend of Theta's named Cydonia appeared and stopped in front of her. Cydonia wasn't a part of the Deca, but Theta seemed to like her a great deal. He was always talking to her and considered her a good friend. She had never associated with Arkytior that much in the past, but she had always been nice to her.

"Cydonia, what are you doing here?" Arkytior asked.

"I just came to give you some encouragement, Arkytior. You may not believe this, but you're doing the right thing. Just try not to be too hard on your mum, huh? I think that she just wants to keep you with her because she doesn't want to be alone," Cydonia said.

"I get that. I really do but she's just going to wind up being alone anyway if she keeps driving me away by rejecting Theta," Arkytior said.

"You may end up estranged from each other for a while, but I think that it'll be alright in the end," Cydonia said.

"I hope so. I love her, but I don't want her to run the rest of my life for me," Arkytior said.

Cydonia started to laugh for a second, and then stopped as she realized what she was doing.

"I'm glad that you think that my pain is so funny," Arkytior said coldly.

"No! No! I wasn't making fun of you. It's just that you remind me so much of someone else that I once knew. She was always complaining about her mother trying to run her life too," Cydonia said.

"What happened to her?" Arkytior asked curiously.

"Her mother finally realized what she was doing when she confronted her and told her how she felt about it. Then she left her alone and let her live her own life from then on. Her mother had been done that way herself after all and knew how it felt. I'm afraid that you mother won't be quite so understanding though," Cydonia said.

"How do you know that?" Arkytior asked.

"Just call it a hunch," Cydonia said.

"Why do I get the feeling that you know something that I don't?" Arkytior asked.

"I don't know anything, Ari. I'm just very smart and intuitive. I possess a special insight into how people think. That's one of my two special talents," Cydonia said with a grin.

"What's the other one?" Arkytior asked.

"I make a mean soufflé. I learned straight from an old human cookbook," Cydonia said with a giggle.

"I've had your soufflé before. It's nothing to brag about," Arkytior said with a smile on her face. Cydonia was making her feel better about what was to come. She was helping to calm her down.

"Don't you dare say that! I'll have you know that my soufflé is prized throughout Gallifrey," Cydonia said as she continued to laugh.

"You're impossible," Arkytior said.

"So I've been told," Cydonia said with a knowing smile on her face.

"Why did you come here?" Arkytior asked.

"I wanted to make you feel better about what's ahead. That and I wanted to give you some advice," Cydonia said.

"What's that?" Arkytior asked.

"No matter what she says to you do not let her break the two of you up. You belong with Theta, and you'll never be happy without him. Do whatever you have to do, but stay with him somehow. If Theta's not in your life, there will be no one to keep the wolf away from your door," Cydonia warned.

Arkytior began to wonder if she knew about her powers, and she became afraid.

"What do you mean by that?" Arkytior asked nervously.

"It's a figure of speech that's all. You're really uptight about this whole thing with your mum, aren't you? Just calm down, Ari. It's not going to be easy, but in the end it'll all turn out alright. I'm sure of that," Cydonia said.

"Thanks," Arkytior said as she calmed down.

Cydonia looked very sad then, and Arkytior's hearts went out to her.

"What's wrong?" Arkytior asked.

"I wish that someone could tell me that everything would be alright. It's hard to explain, but sometimes I feel like this life is not my own. It feels wrong somehow. I feel so lost like I don't even know where I am," Cydonia said with despair.

"You will go home again someday. You will be rescued," Arkytior suddenly said in a voice that was not her own as her eyes glowed with golden energy.

"Rose?" Cydonia asked with renewed hope.

Arkytior's eyes returned to normal, and she was herself again as she said, "Rose? Why did you call me that for?"

"That would be your name on Earth in the English language," Cydonia said thinking quickly.

"Really? I like that name. Maybe I could use it sometime," Arkytior said with a smile.

"I hope I haven't done something wrong," Cydonia said to herself with a worried look on her face.

"What could you have done wrong by telling me that? I think that Rose is a beautiful name. I may just start going by it when I go to Earth from now on," Arkytior said.

"Maybe you should save it for a special occasion instead," Cydonia said nervously.

"I guess you're right," Arkytior agreed as Cydonia breathed out a sigh of relief.

"I should be leaving now before I do any more potential damage. Just remember what I said, and stay with him," Cydonia said as she turned to leave.

"Cydonia, why do you care? I barely know you," Arkytior asked her.

"Theta's my friend. I just want the best for him, and that's you," Cydonia said with a warm smile.

"Thank you," Arkytior said as Cydonia left.

She wasn't quite sure what had just happened or exactly how Cydonia had known that she was coming here, but she was thankful to her for it anyway. She had made her feel better about what she had to do, and she had convinced her beyond a doubt that what she was planning on doing next in the event that her mother didn't back down was the right thing.

Arkytior gathered her courage, and then went inside of her mother's house. Persephone was already waiting for her at the door. She had seen her outside with Cydonia apparently.

"Who was she?" Persephone asked.

"She's a friend of Theta's. Maybe she could be a friend of mine too someday," Arkytior said thoughtfully.

"She reminds me of someone that I used to know when you were born. She's too young to be the same person though," Persephone said.

"I don't want to talk about Cydonia. I want to get to the point. Koschei told me that you were looking for me," Arkytior said.

"Yes, I've heard that you've started dating Theta Sigma. I want that to stop. I was alright with him being your friend, but I will not let you ruin your life this way. You can do so much better than him. He's wild, reckless, and undisciplined. He's completely wrong for you in every way," Persephone said.

"If he's so wrong, why does he make me feel safe whenever I'm with him? Why does just being around him feel so right then? Why is it that the thought of being without him for the rest of my life makes me terrified if he's not right for me?" Arkytior asked.

"I can understand why you like him, but you have to understand that he's never going to have a regular normal life. He's not going to be dependable and stable like the other men out there. His head is always in the clouds and full of dreams. He's never going to settle down and have a real life. It's just not in him," Persephone said.

"I know. That's one of the reasons that I love him. I don't want normal. I never did. Normal is boring. I want a life where I never know what's going to happen next. I don't want to be stuck in the Capitol forever, Mum. I want to see what's out there just like he does," Arkytior said.

"I just wanted you to have a future. How can you be sure of ever having anything with a man like that who only wants to travel the stars with no real plan or goal for his life?" Persephone asked.

"I don't pretend to know what will happen in the future. All that I know is that he and I want the same things. We both want to enjoy our lives and not waste them stuck here in the emptiness of this cold, sterile world," Arkytior said passionately.

"You think this now, but you'll change your mind someday. You'll want something real and solid to cling to when you're older, and he'll never give it to you. He'll never be able to stay in one place for too long or have a regular job," Persephone said.

"I don't care," Arkytior said.

"You'll never do anything with your life but spend it traveling through time and space going from one place to another. That's if he even manages to get a TARDIS of his own. I don't see how that he can since he doesn't have one. Besides, do you really think that the other Time Lords will allow him to do that? You have to be realistic here, Arkytior," Persephone said.

"I don't care what I have to do or where I have to go. As long as I'm with him, I'll be happy," Arkytior said defiantly.

"If you stay with him, you're no longer welcome here anymore. You can expect no more help from me," Persephone threatened.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Arkytior asked in tears.

"I don't want you to throw your life away on a silly dream that can never happen. Please see sense, Arkytior," Persephone said.

"Okay, maybe we can just settle down and have an ordinary life with the occasional trip to Earth," Arkytior said as she tried to extend an olive branch to her mother.

"I'll believe that when I see it. Your life's never going to be ordinary with a man like that. He's aimless and directionless in life. You can and you will do better," Persephone said.

"No! We'll make it somehow I know that we will. I can't let you ruin my life, Mother. No matter how much I love and respect you I can't let you turn me back into that scared, terrified person that I was before anymore. That's what I'll become without Theta around. Don't you understand that? I'll never get to live that way for sure," Arkytior said.

"Arkytior, please listen to me," Persephone said as she began to get upset now too.

"No. I won't listen any longer. I didn't want to do this, but there's no other way, is there? I'm getting married. Theta and I are going to be married soon, and there's nothing that you can do about it. I'm an adult now, and I'm old enough to get married without your permission," Arkytior said.

"What?!" Persephone screamed.

"I said that I'm getting married, and there's nothing that you can do about it," Arkytior said triumphantly.

Persephone's face was suddenly filled with sadness, and Arkytior felt so guilty. She didn't want things to go like this. She didn't want to break her mother's hearts.

"You could come to the wedding if you want. I want you to be there," Arkytior said in a softer tone.

"You're not getting married, Arkytior. I have many connections on this world, and I promise you that I'll use them. No one in the Capitol will marry you and Theta. I'll see to that," Persephone promised.

Arkytior began to break down in tears, and she couldn't speak. She wasn't going to let her win. She'd find another way. She would not be beaten by this. Not by a longshot!

She turned without speaking because she wasn't able to anymore since she was so emotionally distraught. She silently walked out of her mother's home without another word.

"I'm sorry, Arkytior. It's for your own good. I hope someday that you'll see that," Persephone said after she heard the front door slam.

She couldn't admit to herself the real reason that she didn't want Arkytior to stay with Theta. Cydonia had been right. The real reason that she didn't want Arkytior to get married was because she was afraid of losing her and being alone again just as she had been for millennia before.

She had been alone for so long that she would do anything not to have that happen to her again. She had let her fears overwhelm her, and now she had wound up just insuring that what she had most feared was actually going to happen. The two of them were going to wind up separated from each other now, and it would be a long time before they would talk again.

Arkytior immediately made her way to Theta's room and used her key to suddenly enter without announcing herself. She found Theta there asleep on his bed and woke him up as she said in a loud voice, "Theta, you have connections among the Outsiders, right?"

"What? Ari? What are you doing here? You know this is when I have my afternoon nap between classes," Theta said in bewilderment.

"This is more important than your nap, Theta. Do you know of anyone who can perform a wedding among the Outsiders or not?" Arkytior demanded.

"Yeah. I know someone who could do it, and it would be legal even in the Capitol. Why? Do you know someone who's getting married?" Theta asked as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

"Yes. You! Get up and get dressed, Theta. We're going to see this friend of yours, and we're getting married as soon as possible. Even Mum has no pull among the Outsiders. There's no way that she can stop us now," Arkytior said as she closed Theta's door behind her and waited for him outside in the hall.

Theta was suddenly wide awake now as he sprang up in bed and shouted, "What?!"

Next: Arkytior and Theta elope and make Persephone furious. They also make someone else very mad. Calliope is now on the warpath and she doesn't blame Arkytior and Theta. She blames Persephone. The Lily and Elizabeth feud begins here.