The sky above them had billowed with darkening clouds by the time they reached the castle and the Doctor immediately noticed something was wrong. He could see cages dangling in a space between the outer gate and the castle gate, both sitting empty, and he gulped, casually counting the two of them and imagining somehow they'd been labeled traitors while they were gone.
Beside him, Sloren kept a hand tightly on the handle of his sword and after a moment the Doctor heard something electronic power up and glanced to his side to see the black gun-like weapon all of the soldiers carried suddenly illuminated with blue streaks that ran through the weaponry. Some sort of laser, he knew, and he reached for his Sonic, palming it, but keeping it hidden. He ran a quick scan of the gun from where he sat and considered a counter setting as they moved through the first set of gates with a silent nod to the men guarding it, and approached the second gate.
Sloren spoke quietly then, telling him, "If there comes any sign that the Queen knows of my intentions, you stay on my heel and we abandon the castle."
The Doctor turned with a small shake of his head, "I don't leave here without Clara."
"The machine can't harm your friend," Sloren responded. "It's calibrated for Clarice."
"It's calibrated to find Clara," the Doctor growled. "Either woman in that machine could kill the other, or, potentially, a million other women scattered across the galaxy, across all of time and space and that action would, most definitely, have repercussions." When Sloren turned, the Doctor raised his free hand and muttered, "I'll explain when there are less complications I have to concentrate on."
With a short nod, Sloren offered, "Then we get Clara and we leave – we find Clarice and we put them in your ship and send them off to safety while we fight."
Chuckling lightly, the Doctor only glanced at him with a sort of admiration and he nodded, continuing towards the castle gates which were now being opened as they slipped off their horses, allowing the men there to take the horses towards the stables. Sloren was still rubbing his palm into the back of his sword nervously, passing a glance up at the stairs, as if expecting Clarice to come bounding out to ask him how his ride into the village had gone. The Doctor wondered if she'd done that on any other day, the way Clara would rush into the Tardis to ask him how he'd spent the days between when he'd last seen her and the moment she'd stood in front of him again.
He smiled involuntarily at the thought of her and Sloren nudged him playfully, asking quietly, "What amuses you so, Doctor?"
For a moment he hesitated, but looking up into the suddenly hopeful eyes that waited, he allowed, "I was thinking about the way Clara would greet me," he nodded to the stairs, "Like Clarice greets you."
"How long have you loved her?" Sloren asked, voice barely above a whisper as they stepped deeper into the castle, towards the great hall where Sloren knew his mother would be waiting for a report.
Giving him a knowing smile, the Doctor nodded, quietly repeating Sloren's words from earlier, "I suppose it would be easier to ask when have I not?"
They shared a look of mutual appreciation before stepping into the great hall to find that amusement squelched when they saw Clara standing next to the Queen, hands bound in front of her in metal chains that lead to an anchor in the stones of the flooring. Her dark eyes widened and for a moment she looked to the Doctor, before she shifted her gaze to Sloren knowing she should want his help in that moment, but also knowing he couldn't give it to her.
Neither of them could.
"Go on," Morda prodded, giving her a small shock at her shoulder with a simple touch. "Greet your guard and his new friend," the woman began before adding, "Your captor. Our new Strategist who seems to want to turn our siege into a proper little kingdom."
Clara clenched her teeth and gave a small bow, uttering, "Good to see you both."
"Your Highness," Sloren said slowly to Clara with a nod and a bow as he glanced sideways to the Doctor, tilting his head until he did the same and when they both straightened, Sloren turned to his mother and asked quietly, "Might I ask why she's bound in this fashion?"
Morda smiled and it was a grin the Doctor knew well. He'd seen it thousands of times on thousands of villains across the galaxy just before a horrible plan was put into play and, as he looked to the restraints keeping Clara glued to her spot, he understood with a sickening turn of his stomach – they should be running now.
"Clarice, why don't you tell your guard what you've done to deserve such treatment," Morda cooed, reaching out again to run a fingernail along Clara's arm, the contact sizzling against her skin.
For a moment she was unable to speak, the electricity stopping her nerves and leaving her with a trembling chest and a foggy mind. Then she managed, "I went looking for the machine last night."
Sloren shook his head and spat, "Why would you do that!? I've told you not to…" he trailed and looked to his mother, reeling himself back in and calmly stating, "I'll see to it that the princess doesn't go looking again, your majesty."
Raising a finger, Morda's mouth came open just as Sloren began to step forward, and she shook her head, hissing, "You'll see to it that the princess is properly punished."
"Absolutely," he nodded, giving Clara a sympathetic look.
"And you'll do it right now," Morda added quietly, retrieving and unrolling a long whip that crackled with blue sparks as it activated.
Sloren looked to the Doctor, who stared at Clara, who found herself staring in shock at the whip. Taking a step forward, Sloren reached out for the item and the Doctor understood – if he didn't, he would be seen as weak by his mother; if he were seen as weak, he would lose command of the army; if he lost command of the army, he also lost his freedom to do as he saw fit. Tactically, the best move was to allow him to punish Clara.
He hung his head, listening to the footsteps cross the room and come to stand just behind Clara and the Doctor heard her shuffle, shifting around so that her back was to him now and she tugged at the metal shackles hooked around her wrists, grabbing hold of the chains and shaking her head. Sloren's gaze remained steady, meeting her eyes just before Clara turned to the Doctor and found him looking to the ground.
"No, this is ridiculous – I was just wandering; just wandering," she pleaded, careful with her words.
Morda nodded to Sloren and the man took a long breath and lifted the whip and when he swung it, Clara inhaled sharply, waiting for the snap against her skin. But the tail end never reached her, it gripped tightly around Morda's neck and Sloren gave a hard yank that the woman gasped at. The Doctor pulled his Sonic and immediately aimed it at Clara's chains, sending a wave of sonic energy at them and he frowned when it remained locked around her wrists.
"Doctor, please," she pleaded, looking beside her to see Sloren and Morda playing a sort of tug-o-war with the whip and she got the impression, by the sick grin on the woman's face, that she was going to win. "Sonic it again!"
"It's not working," he growled, coming up behind her, cradling her against him, one arm over her left shoulder to hold her arms still, the other over her right shoulder to Sonic them again and again and then suddenly the chains came to life with brilliant blue sparks of their own and the Doctor was thrown back as Clara received the brunt of a shock from the restraints.
"Clarice," Sloren shouted on instinct, releasing his grip on the whip to bend and pick Clara up into his arms, sweeping her hair away before hearing his mother laughing.
"So, I see you've found the Time Lord, Sloren. Or rather, he's found us," Morda said gleefully, gesturing at the Doctor. "Guards!"
Sloren looked to Clara and he closed his eyes and, in her weakened state, she understood and she nodded slowly up at him, feeling the backs of his fingers run over her face before his palm landed just at her chest, feeling her heartbeat a moment before smiling. He kissed her forehead and whispered, "We'll come back for you, Clara," and he stood quickly, grabbing the Doctor by the shoulder to yank him off the floor.
"No," the Doctor began.
"We have to," Sloren argued as he turned and punched the first guard square in the face before pulling his gun and firing three shots.
The Doctor heard swords clattering and there were more hums, more guns being activated, and he turned his Sonic as they reached the door, shutting their guns off while being dragged towards the gates. He looked in at Clara, lying on the ground, coughing lightly against the effects of being electrocuted, and he shook his head, grabbing at Sloren as they stepped into the front courtyard.
"We can't leave her!"
"We have to," Sloren shouted back, pointing at two horses that had just been prepped for a ride and he rushed to them, urging the Doctor to mount one as the guards inside began to clamor out after them.
They moved swiftly towards the main gates and Sloren aimed his gun, firing off a blast that burst the doors apart just as they reached them. With an apology in his heart to the woman they'd just left behind, he aimed his horse to the forests behind the castle and he rode with the Doctor reluctantly on his heel.
Morda screamed as she untangled the whip from her neck and gripped it angrily in her hand, moving to one of the windows to look out at Sloren and the Time Lord making their way into the forest, untouched. Unscathed and capable of retaliation. She allowed herself a laugh as she looked back to Clara, now trying to steady herself on her hands and knees, taking short breaths and bringing her shaking hands to her chest.
"Sloren has abandoned you," Morda growled at her.
"And isn't he your son," Clara stuttered with a small smirk.
She supposed it was the smirk that earned her the rough kick to the stomach and she held it on her face despite the anguished gasps for air she was taking, lying on her side, chained hands settled at her midsection. The woman pacing around her was seething, she could see, and she understood why – her and the Doctor weren't the only ones who knew Sloren was her son and her words had reminded the woman. If her own son could abandon her; why shouldn't the other soldiers. It would plant a seed of doubt in their minds and it would give the villagers a spark of hope.
Morda sank quickly in front of her, silver eyes almost glowing as she stared at Clara and hissed, "We'll wipe that smile off your face soon enough, princess – in three days time, I'm assured, we'll be able to activate the inter-dimensional portal and leap out of this crack and back to our stars. It'll eat up your heart and the core of this planet and it'll happen with or without my son by my side. His last moments can be spent holding your corpse in his arms just before the soil beneath him crumbles."
Clara laughed. It was weak and slow and her eyes closed to drop tears to the ground with the effort, but she made sure she laughed audibly enough to turn the other woman's ordinarily pale skin red. With a small shake of her head, she whispered, "You're forgetting the Time Lord."
Straightening, Morda stared down at her with a curious look as she continued to chuckle. Clara imagined the Doctor would be infuriated. He would be riding on his horse with a purpose and Clara knew what happened when he had that anger bubbling inside of him. Where he was ordinarily uncoordinated – a jumble of limbs and gaping smiles and eloquent speeches – right now he was a sharp as any blade on any rider. He had a growing list of ever-changing tasks to accomplish tumbling about inside of his brilliant mind and at the very top, she knew, at the very tip top was getting her back.
"The wrath of a Time Lord; not something you want to incur," Clara muttered.
The woman nodded and then raised her head, shouting out for her guards and when they entered, she spoke firmly and calmly, telling them, "Gather the villagers from just beyond the woods, bring them on the orders of the Queen; I have a message for them." The men departed and Morda raised a hand in Clara's direction. With a surprised gasp, Clara's body lifted from the floor, straightening in the air until her legs dangled and then Morda approached her with a smile of her own. "Then the wrath of a Time Lord I shall incur."