CHAPTER 14

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THE PAST IS PROLOGUE

Not long after telling Theta about Cassiopeia, Arkytior finally asked him about moving in together. Theta looked at her with an odd expression on his face for a moment, and then he finally said, "I thought we already had moved in together."

Arkytior knew that Theta was thick, but this was a new level of obliviousness even for him. She couldn't believe that he hadn't even noticed that she hadn't moved in yet.

"How in the world did you think that?" Arkytior asked him as she looked at him like he had lost his mind.

"You're always here now, and you've stayed the night ever since we were married. I just thought that you had already taken care of it and gotten rid of your room already," Theta said.

"Didn't you wonder why I hadn't brought any of my things in here yet?" Arkytior asked.

"I just thought that you thought that what I had in here was good enough already, and that you had sent your things back to your mother's house. You should get them out of there and move them in here as soon as you can. I'll help you move them if you want me to. I'm sure that we can find room for them in here somewhere. There's no reason for you to have a separate room now unless you want to," Theta said.

"I definitely don't want to. I like being here with you. I just wanted to move my things in so that it felt more like my home," Arkytior said.

"It is your home, Ari. It's our home," Theta said as he kissed her tenderly.

"I'm so glad that you said that. I'll start moving my things in first thing tomorrow," Arkytior said.

Later on in the day, Theta told Cliodna and Koschei about this and was surprised when Koschei started laughing his head off.

"Exactly what is it that you find so funny?" Cliodna asked with a frown as she echoed Theta's thoughts.

"Nothing much. It's just that the poor fool doesn't realize what he's just done. He can basically say good bye to everything that he owns now," Koschei said with a chuckle.

"What are you talking about?" Theta asked in confusion.

"Don't listen to him. He has no idea what he's talking about. Trust me," Cliodna said as she continued to frown at Koschei.

"No, don't trust her, Theta. Listen to me. She's going to throw everything that you have away and replace it with her things. She'll consider all of her things to be superior to yours. By the time that she's finished, you won't have a thing left in that room that's yours," Koschei predicted.

"Ari would never do that," Theta protested.

"Yes, she will. If you have anything that you have any sentimental attachment to then you'd better send it back to your mother's house now," Koschei warned.

"Shut up and stop trying to fill his head full of stories. I thought that you cared about Ari," Cliodna said.

"I do. I love her like a sister, but I can't lie to Theta because of that. He's going to get cleaned out. I know Ari, and she won't let him keep all of that old, torn up, and smelly stuff that he has. She won't stand for it. I'm not trying to say anything bad about her at all. It's just the truth," Koschei said as his eyes softened.

"The truth according to you. That doesn't make it true though. I think that the two of you taking the final step is a good thing. Congratulations, Theta," Cliodna said with a warm smile on her face.

"Thanks. I'm looking forward to it," Theta said as he ignored Koschei shaking his head behind Cliodna.

Theta then saw an evil smile beginning to appear on Cliodna's face. Usually that was bad news to whoever she was angry at. He was worried for a second that maybe it was him when Cliodna shoved her elbow into Koschei's gut. Koschei let out a yelp of pain as Cliodna began to smile even more.

"That's for saying things about Arkytior," Cliodna said.

"I swear that I wasn't saying anything bad about her. I was just stating the facts," Koschei protested.

As Theta turned around to leave, he heard Koschei yell again. He should really learn how to keep his mouth shut especially around Cliodna.

After all of their classes were finished, Theta told Arkytior what Koschei had said. He laughed at the story to show her that he didn't believe it for a minute.

"Can you believe that he said that? You'd never do that I know. We'll find a place for all of our things here," Theta said.

Arkytior looked like a deer caught in the headlights as she remained silent and only gave him a nervous laugh in response. Even Theta knew that meant that she was hiding something.

"Is something wrong?" Theta asked.

"Theta, I was kind of thinking that your furniture was a little too . . . used for my tastes," Arkytior said as she kept smiling nervously at him.

Theta knew then that Koschei had been right. She wanted to get rid of his furniture! Anger flared up in him, and he used every bit of willpower at his command to keep it under control. He didn't want to start a fight with her. He really didn't. Maybe he could learn to live without a few things here and there.

"I'm sorry. I know that probably makes you angry, but I didn't mean to. I would just like to make things look nice. It would look much nicer in here with some of my things here and there," Arkytior said.

"Just do whatever you think is best, Ari," Theta said as he held back from what he really wanted to say.

"You're not fooling me, Theta. I've known you most of your life. You're mad. You don't want to hurt me so you're keeping it to yourself, and I love you for that. I really do. However, you should just tell me the truth. I want us to be honest with each other," Arkytior said.

"I don't want to start a fight especially not this soon after our marriage. I . . . ," Theta said as he stopped talking and looked away from her.

"What is it?" Arkytior asked.

"I don't want to drive you away. I don't want to lose you if you see the real me," Theta said.

Arkytior laughed at him and then hugged him. He looked at her in surprise as she gave him a gentle kiss.

"I've known you all of your life, and I was your best friend until we became something more than friends. That means that I already know all of your dirty little secrets, Theta Sigma. I know exactly what you're thinking at all times, and I know what you're going to say even before you do. Do you really think that I entered into this marriage blind without knowing all of your faults? I'm not going to leave you, Theta. I'm certainly not going to do it over something like this. Now tell me how you really feel. I appreciate you trying to spare my feelings, but just tell me the truth," Arkytior insisted.

"I don't want to lose my furniture or anything else of mine. I don't see why I should have to just because you don't like it. It's still mine, and I think that you should respect that. Why can't we just have all of our things in here together? You can have your things, and I can have mine," Theta said.

"Thank you. Do you see? I like it that you were honest with me. Now here's what I have to say about it. I'm going to try my best to live with your things being here too even though I would prefer to have many of them sent out to be recycled into something that someone would actually appreciate owning. I really am going to try because you were honest with me," Arkytior said.

"You're good. You just gave me what I wanted, and yet you got your point across and subtly insulted me at the same time. You're being so nice about that I can't even get mad. You should become a diplomat someday, Ari. You'd be good at it," Theta said as he kissed her.

"Thank you, Theta. I think," Arkytior said with a small laugh as she kissed him back.

Despite this though, Theta came back the next day to find that Arkytior had used her one day that she was free of classes to move all of her things in while he was away at school all day. He quickly noticed that most of his things were gone, and his face turned red as he tried not to get angry. He really tried.

"I thought that you were going to try living with them," Theta said slowly so he wouldn't lose his temper.

"I did. I lasted a whole day. I'm really surprised that I lasted that long," Arkytior said.

Theta couldn't speak because he was so angry. He was really, really trying not to get into a fight with her because he didn't want to start their marriage out that way. He had to admit that it was also because he loved her so much. He didn't want to yell at her or hurt her in any way. He really wanted to just let this whole thing go. He was trying very hard to do just that.

"I'm sorry. I really did try, but I couldn't keep that horrible couch or that raggedy looking rug. Don't worry though. I didn't throw anything away. I had it all sent to your parents' house. So nothing's gone. It's just not here," Arkytior said.

He stood there in silence. He was afraid to say anything for fear of starting an argument.

Arkytior could see him struggling with his anger so she said, "Just let me have it, Theta. I know you want to. I may get mad, but it'll be alright. It's okay. You don't have to hold it in around me."

"I'm . . . fine. Everything's fine," Theta said as he hugged her.

"No, it's not. Tell me how you feel," Arkytior encouraged him.

"I feel fine," Theta said with a fake smile.

"You're hopeless. I do appreciate that you don't want to fight though. I really do," Arkytior said as she kissed him.

There was a knock on the door then, and Arkytior opened it to see a strange man standing there. He looked vaguely familiar to her, but she couldn't quite place his face.

"Arkytior?" the man asked.

"Yes and you are?" Arkytior asked as something about him continued to tug at her memory.

"Braxiatel? What are you doing here?" Theta asked in a clearly unhappy and worried tone.

His anger with Arkytior was completely gone now as he focused all of his attention on trying to find out what his brother had come here about. His brother had been largely absent for most of his life due to preserving his collection of literature, art, and other assorted objects from all over the universe. He had devoted his life to creating one massive storehouse of everything that he considered irreplaceable so that it could be preserved in the event of some kind of universal cataclysm.

In a way, that collection summed up his brother in a nutshell. He was always thinking ahead and planning for any eventuality. He never did anything without a reason, and the reason was usually something that benefited him in some way. What benefited Brax didn't always benefit everybody else though not that he had ever been overly concerned with the welfare of others.

That was why he was worried about him being here now. He had never taken much of an interest in Theta's life before so why was he suddenly so interested in it now. He was worried that Brax might be up to something no good. The fact that he was already so interested in Arkytior was really setting off alarm bells and worrying him even more.

"I'm Theta's brother, Braxiatel. I don't blame you for not recognizing me. The last time that I saw you was when you were a little girl. I knew though that you were the one for him even back then. He couldn't have picked anyone better," Braxiatel said as he kissed Arkytior's hand.

Arkytior wanted to like him because he was Theta's brother, but she didn't trust him. He was being way too charming and too nice. She felt as if he wanted something, and she had a feeling that whatever it was would be something that she wouldn't like. She immediately wanted him gone, and she could see from the expression on his face that Theta did too.

The fact that Theta barely talked about him and that what he did say wasn't that flattering was enough to tell her that she didn't want him anywhere around her. Brax's own behavior was only cementing that notion in her mind.

"Why are you here, Brax?" Theta asked warily.

"Does there have to be a reason? I came to see Arkytior. Mother told me that you had gotten married to her and that she was pregnant with a little girl. It shocked me that I had missed so much of your life. It made me realize that I had already missed out on a lot, and I was determined not to miss any more than necessary. So I decided to come here and meet your new bride," Brax said.

Dread seized Theta's hearts as he worried about what Brax might be up to. He knew one thing for certain. If Brax was here to do anything to hurt Ari, then not even the fact that he was his brother would save him from him.

"You had a long time to get to know her. Why show so much interest now?" Theta asked suspiciously.

"She wasn't your wife then, and you always said that she wasn't anything more than a friend. Apparently that wasn't quite true though, was it?" Brax said.

"Theta has always had trouble expressing his feelings," Arkytior said.

"Yes, but I can't imagine why in your case. I should think that Theta would jump at the opportunity to marry someone as sweet and lovely as you are," Brax said.

"Thank you," Arkytior said as she faked a smile.

Now she really didn't want this man around her. He was after something for sure.

"Well, can I come in?" Brax asked as he continued to stand in the doorway.

"Of course," Arkytior said against her better judgment.

"Do you have something to eat? I'm afraid that I've come a long way to see you, and I'm simply starving," Brax said as soon as he came into the room and shut the door.

"I don't have anything but jelly babies. I'll have to go get something else. I'll be back soon," Theta said as he started to leave.

"You and your Earth foods. I'll wait right here and talk to your beautiful new wife until you get back," Brax said as Theta left the room.

As soon as Theta was gone, Brax said to Arkytior, "I know your secret."

"What?" Arkytior asked in surprise and sudden fear.

"I know about your powers, Arkytior," Brax said.

"What powers?" Arkytior asked as she started to shake from worry.

"I'm talking about the powers that you've received from the Vortex. Don't try to deny that you have them. I have evidence. I have video of you using them to defeat a snake creature that had taken over your mind," Brax said referring to her defeat of the Mara.

"How? Where were the recording devices?" Arkytior asked.

"It doesn't matter where. All that matters is that I have evidence that shows what you can do," Brax said.

"What is this about? Do you want to have me locked away?" Arkytior asked in a frightened voice as she shook in terror now.

"Oh, no. Of course not, Arkytior. I would never do that to my brother. Not unless I had to. You see I'll make sure that no one knows about your little secret for a price. I want you to use your powers to make sure that a certain peace conference goes the way that it should. The Daleks are threatening to attack it, and they probably will if someone doesn't stop them. I want you to wipe out the Daleks for me if they try it," Brax said.

"I don't know how. I can't use my powers on a whim. I can only use them when I get very emotional and even then they're not really under my control. I can't help you," Arkytior said.

"Can't or won't? If you won't help me, then I'll expose you to the High Council or worse the Celestial Intervention Agency. They'll probably have you put in some secret lab to see what gives you your powers. You'll never see the light of day again," Brax threatened.

"Why are you doing this to me? I've never done anything to anyone. I never would. I just want to live in peace," Arkytior said as she began to tear up.

"I won't bother you at all, Arkytior, if you'll just do as I say. I want you to come to the peace conference with me and destroy the Daleks if they show up. Then you'll never see me again unless I have need for your special abilities once more. Just do as I ask, and no one will ever need to know about you and what you can do. Especially Theta," Brax said.

"You want me to work for you, is that it?" Arkytior asked.

"Yes, the Web of Time must be maintained at all costs, and sometimes the rules need to be broken in order to maintain it and keep Gallifrey safe. It's my job to go the extra mile in order to protect our world and its best interests. I need you to help me in this and other special cases, and in return I'll keep your secret safe from everyone. You can't ask for more than that, can you?" Brax asked.

"I can ask to be left alone in peace. I don't know how to use my powers. If I try to use them, they could go out of control and do serious damage. Just leave me alone before I do something terrible," Arkytior said.

"I won't leave you alone though, Arkytior. You will do as I say, or I'll tell everyone exactly what you can do. That will be the end of you, your mother, and Theta. Do you really want that to happen? Do you want Theta and your mother to die or worse?" Brax asked.

"Leave me alone!" Arkytior screamed.

"No, I won't. I'll never leave you alone until you do what I want," Brax said firmly.

Arkytior began to glow with the power of the Vortex as she became filled with anger now. She was not going to let anyone push her around this way.

"You will leave me alone, and you'll forget everything that you know about my powers. You will also destroy any evidence that you have of me using my powers," Arkytior commanded Braxiatel as she used her powers to attempt to control his mind.

"Yes. I'll do as you say," Brax said in a hollow, lifeless voice.

"You'll never come to see me again. If I ever see you again, I won't be so merciful next time," Arkytior said.

"Yes. I will obey," Brax said.

"Leave!" Arkytior said in a cold voice.

Braxiatel left then, and Arkytior's powers faded. She shook as she realized what she had done. She had used her powers for the first time since she had become Theta's girlfriend. She had never used them once in all of the time since then because being with Theta made her feel happy and safe.

Now she had been forced to use them in order to protect herself. She hadn't wanted to. She was just happy that she had been able to keep control over them. She had been so tempted to wipe Braxiatel out of existence. She couldn't do that to Theta though. She hadn't hurt anyone, but she had used her powers to control someone else's mind. Even though she had to in order to protect Theta and her mother, she still didn't feel right about that. She didn't believe in violating another person's mind that way, and it made her feel sick inside that she had done so even in a good cause.

She began to feel the urge to become the old, introverted version of herself again, and she had to fight the temptation to regress back to that persona. She was not going to let Braxiatel turn her back into her old self again. He would win if she allowed him to do that, and she wasn't about to let him. She was not going to become a victim of Braxiatel or anyone else. From now on, she would just have to be sure to never use her powers again. Then there should be no problems, should there?

Braxiatel smiled to himself as he walked away. He pulled out the Vortex Shield that had protected him from Arkytior's abilities and smiled. He had gotten the answers that he needed.

Arkytior would not be able to be used by the enemies of the Time Lords against them no matter what they did. Furthermore, she would protect his brother even when pushed to the breaking point. He had proven to himself that she was no danger to anyone and so he would let her live in peace just as she requested.

Brax didn't get far though before he ran into a problem. Or rather before he ran into Koschei's fist. Koschei had come to see if Theta had lost all of his things yet and to gloat about it if he had. He had come just in time to see Brax leaving the room and the look on Arkytior's face as he did. He then saw the smug smile on Brax's face afterwards and knew that something had happened. He knew who Brax was and what he was capable of so he knew that punching him was probably the least that he deserved if he had done something to Ari.

Before Brax could get up off of the floor, Koschei grabbed him by the throat and held him up off of the ground with one hand. As Brax started to protest, he let his eyes bore into Brax's; and he quickly hypnotized him. He had been practicing this technique for a long time in secret, and he smiled at how well he had managed to pull it off on the first try as Brax fell under his control in moments. This time Brax had nothing to protect him from mental domination.

"What did you do to Ari? Tell me now," Koschei commanded.

After Brax told him, it was all that Koschei could do to keep himself from crushing the man's skull. He was furious and worried for Arkytior at the same time. He didn't want her progress to be set back by this fool.

"You are to do exactly as Ari told you. You will destroy all evidence that you have against her. You will then forget about her powers and never visit her again. If you don't do as I say, I will kill you slowly and painfully. I will then kill all of your remaining regenerations each in a new and more exciting manner. Do you understand?" Koschei said.

"Yes," Brax said.

"Yes, what?" Koschei prodded with an amused smile on his face.

"Yes, Master," Brax said.

"Very good. I like the sound of that. Now go. You will snap out of your trance as soon as you have destroyed the evidence and disabled any monitoring devices that you have watching Arkytior. Then you will forget about her powers and this meeting between us," Koschei commanded.

"Yes, Master," Brax said as he walked away.

"That's right. I am the Master. The Master of all of the walking garbage such as you," Koschei said as he watched Brax walk away in anger.

He would have killed him outright, but he knew that Ari would never approve. He would never do anything to lose her friendship so he had to hold his homicidal impulses in check for her sake.

He held his head in his hands for a moment before entering Arkytior's room as he tried to calm himself. It was times like this when something extremely stressful had occurred that he found it the hardest to ignore the drums. In fact in such cases as those the drums only added to his aggravation and distress and almost goaded him on into doing something far worse than he ordinarily would.

Once he had regained control over himself, he entered Arkytior's room to find her shaken and looking pale. He immediately rushed to her and held her tightly as she began to cry.

"I know what he did, but I dealt with him. He won't bother you any more I promise. Your secret is safe, Ari," Koschei reassured her.

"Thank you. I'm so glad that you were here. I thought that my powers had worked on him, but obviously they didn't. That just shows how unpredictable they are. I told him that I couldn't control them, and I was right," Arkytior said.

"You can control them just fine as long as people like that aren't around. Just promise me that this won't set you back. You're having a good life with Theta now, and I don't want you to lose the happiness that you've worked so hard for over an insect like Brax," Koschei said.

"I won't. I'm good, Koschei. I'm not letting anyone take any of this away from me. I'd die first before I let anyone take this life that I've been waiting so long for away from me," Arkytior promised him.

"Good. Now tell me. Did you get rid of all of Theta's stuff yet? I don't see any of it around anywhere," Koschei said with a chuckle.

"Shut up!" Arkytior said with a huge grin as she hugged him tightly.

Theta walked in then with a confused look on his face. Brax was gone and Koschei was in his place. He hated himself for thinking it, but he hoped that Koschei had punched Brax out and made him leave. He would forgive him for that just this once if that was the case.

"Where did Brax go? I went to all of the trouble to get food, and he's left already," Theta complained.

Then he saw the look on Arkytior's face and said, "What did he do? I knew that he was up to something. I'll give him a piece of my mind if he did something to you."

"Don't worry. I already did that on behalf of both of us. He won't be bothering Ari again," Koschei said.

"What did you do?" Theta asked.

"I acquainted him with my fist. That convinced him to leave all of us alone. I know he's your brother, but I'm not sorry for doing it. He wanted Arkytior to sign some kind of prenuptial agreement, and he was trying to bully her into it while you were away. I came by to see you and caught him at it," Koschei lied.

He even surprised himself at how easily he had lied, but he knew that he was doing it to protect Arkytior so he didn't mind as much as he normally would.

"That sanctimonious little . . . ! I'm so sorry, Ari. Are you okay? I shouldn't have left you alone with him. I'm sorry!" Theta said as he embraced her.

"I'm okay. I never want to see him again though," Arkytior said firmly.

"Don't worry about it. You won't. I'm make sure that he doesn't get anywhere near you from now on. Just watch at him try to deny it when I confront him with it. That would be just like him. He's always doing things like this, and then lying about them," Theta said fuming.

"I wouldn't bother bringing it up. I think that I impressed upon him how unhappy that we both were with what he did," Koschei said.

"Yeah I guess you're right. Thank you, Koschei. Normally I don't condone violence, but in this case I'm willing to make an exception," Theta said with a grateful smile.

"I see that the furniture's gone," Koschei said with a grin as he quickly changed the subject.

"Yeah. Arkytior and I came to an agreement about that, and I let her send my furniture back to my mother's house," Theta said.

"Yes, that's exactly right. We both agreed on it," Arkytior said with a grin on her face.

"Sure. I believe you," Koschei said with a wicked smile.

"Good because it's absolutely one hundred percent true," Theta said in a loud voice.

"I'm going on my date with Ushas now. While I'm away, you should probably practice your lying, Theta. That one wasn't even believable enough to fool a Time Tot," Koschei said.

"Good luck, Koschei. I really think that you and Ushas are meant for one another," Arkytior said as she gave him a hug and whispered thank you in his ear.

After Koschei left, Theta said, "I'm sorry, Arkytior. After something like that, fighting over furniture just seems so inconsequential."

"Yeah, it does. I'm glad that you're nothing like him. Do you think he might be adopted? You and your mother are nothing like him," Arkytior said.

"I've often wondered that myself. Hey, do you think that Koschei is my real brother, and he was switched at birth with Brax? I could believe that," Theta said.

"I wish that was true. That would be wonderful. I know that I'd be proud to have him as a brother-in-law," Arkytior said.

She was still not quite over what had just happened, but she was at least able to handle it without falling to pieces. As long as Theta was around, nothing else seemed to matter. She believed that she could go through anything now as long as he and her friends were there alongside her.

Koschei left with a smile on his face even as he looked forward to his first date with Ushas. They had arranged with Arkytior to use her TT Capsule to go see the Constellation of Thascalos Dominus from the planet Seta. It was one of the Wonders of the Universe and seeing it from Seta gave you the best view of it.

It was quite easy for Ushas and Koschei to break into the museum where the Capsule was kept and take it without anyone noticing. Once they arrived on Seta, they took in the beauty of this breathtaking view of the universe together and stood there in silence for a moment just drinking it in with their eyes.

"Was this your idea?" Ushas finally asked after a long silence.

"No. Theta came up with it. He said that this place would be sure to impress you. Was he right?" Koschei asked.

"Thank you for not lying to me. I had a feeling that this came from Theta. It has his love for the natural beauty of the universe written all over it," Ushas said.

"Does that matter? I thought that it was a good idea even if it did come from Theta," Koschei said with a grin.

"No, it doesn't matter. What matters is that you're the one who brought me here not Theta. He's a good friend to you, isn't he? You make fun of him a lot, but it's because you love him, isn't it?" Ushas asked as she looked deeply into his eyes.

Koschei went for broke then as he said, "Yes. Like a brother. Not in the same way that I love you though."

Ushas smiled as she said, "We barely know each other. Yes, we've been acquaintances for a long time now, but we've never been what you'd call close."

"I'd like to change that. I think that you're the most beautiful sight here. You even put Thascalos to shame," Koschei said.

Ushas looked at him in surprise as she said, "Where did this newfound confidence around me come from? The other day you couldn't even talk to me."

"I guess I just realized from Arkytior and Theta just how important finding the right person can be. I see how they can improve your life and make you stronger with them than you could ever be by yourself. Theta's certainly done that for Ari," Koschei said.

Ushas' face brightened as she said, "I love how much you care about her. You really look after her. It's so sweet, and it really undermines that bad boy image that you usually project."

"Don't tell anyone. I have to maintain my credibility," Koschei said with a grin.

"I used to think that you were in love with her until recently. I can see that I was wrong though. She's more like family to you, isn't she?" Ushas asked.

"Yes, she's the most important person in my life other than my parents and Theta. I can't explain why, but I've just always had a strong connection to her ever since we first met. I feel as if she's a part of me somehow. I can't explain it, but that's how I feel," Koschei admitted.

"Like I said, I think it's sweet. It reminds me of my relationship with my sister, Kali, in a way. I always try to watch out for her and protect her. She's the older sister, but sometimes I feel like I am. She's always getting into trouble, and I have to try to either get her out of it or prevent her from getting into it in the first place. It doesn't make things any easier that she has these rapidly developing mental powers that she often can't control. That's one major difference between her and Ari. I have to try to protect her from herself and keep her powers from overwhelming her or getting her into even worse trouble than usual. Ari's so nice and quiet plus you'd never have a problem like that with her. You're in a much better position than I am. You would never believe what I have to go through," Ushas said.

I may know more about that than you think. Koschei thought to himself but said nothing.

She was right in one respect. Ari was a nice person and would never cause anyone trouble on purpose so there was a major difference between her and Kali. Otherwise Usha and Koschei certainly had the problem of trying to take care of an extremely powerful person and keep them out of trouble in common whether Ushas realized it or not.

"I don't mind what I have to go through as much as you might think though. She's my sister, and I love her. I'd do anything for her," Ushas said.

"I wonder if she appreciates just how truly wonderful you really are. I wonder if anyone does," Koschei said.

Ushas smiled an even wider grin now as she said, "You're quite the charmer, aren't you?"

"I can be but it helps if I really mean it. I do mean it with both of my hearts, Ushas. I see how wonderful you are, and what you've just told me only adds to that impression," Koschei said.

"I – I really don't know you that well. You're really making me want to kiss you though, and it's becoming very hard for me to come up with a reason not to," Ushas said.

"Why are you fighting it for?" Koschei asked.

"I don't know you well enough yet that's why, and you do have a bad boy reputation that you seem to enjoy. I just don't want to enter into a relationship that will end with me having my hearts broken," Ushas said with complete honesty.

"I'd never hurt you," Koschei said.

"I want to believe that. I really do. Your friendship with Theta and Ari does vouch for you, but I'd like to date you more before I go any further with you. I do like what I see so far though. I definitely do. How about we have another date next week? I'll pick the place this time and let you know where it is later," Ushas said.

"You've got it," Koschei said with a huge smile on his face.

Ushas smiled at his enthusiasm and kissed him on the cheek. That was the furthest that she was willing to go for now, but it was a start. It let him know that she was truly interested in following up on their relationship further.

Koschei blushed and looked down on the ground in embarrassment. Ushas laughed as she saw this hidden side of him again. She knew that either he was a very good liar, or he was letting her see the secret vulnerable side of himself that he kept hidden from everyone else. She would have to date him more to find out which of those was the truth.

She thought that he was worth it.

Next: I'm going to slip way ahead in time for the next chapter to tell the story of the worst time in Arkytior and Theta's life. This is the story of what happened to the Doctor after Arkytior 'died' and became Rose Tyler. What did the Doctor go through immediately afterward, and how did it all lead to him becoming the wanderer through time and space that we all know now. Also I'm going to show how her death affected everyone else in our cast from Koschei to Cliodna to Persephone and how it ripped all of their lives apart and led to life changing circumstances for all of them that only the return of Rose Tyler could fix centuries later.

Don't worry. I'm not leaving behind the story that you've been following up until now. I'm just skipping ahead to show the end result of it all. How we get there is still going to be the focus of this series though. I hope that you'll continue to enjoy the ride in the chapters ahead.