Title: Brèves de TARDIS - "The Unforgiven".
Number of parts: 1.
Pairing: Ninth Doctor/Rose Tyler.
Synopsis: "There were a lot of legends about that forest, and one of them was saying that it was inhabited by a wolf whose fur was as dark as a night without stars, whose eyes were as blue as the clearest sky. "
A/N: The characters and the universe don't belong to me. All rights goes to Russell T. Davies, Phil Collinson, Susie Liggat, Steven Moffat and to the BBC. Everything else belongs to my imagination.
A/N 2: This one-shot is part of the #DoctorWhoChristmasChallenge I'm actually doing. You can find the 'rules' to enter on my Tumblr (shadowsprodpresent) or on my Instagram (theoncomingpolicebox). I don't take prompt anymore. So, this one was an entry from claraswolf (Instagram).
Doctor: Ninth.
Pairing: Doctor/Rose.
Prompt: Rose is traveling through the woods, looking similar to what Little Red Riding Hood would look like and runs into a wolf, who happens to be the Doctor. Scared, Rose tries to run away and ends up rolling down a hill, ultimately being knocked out from the fall and roll.
Time/Location: 2016.
AU or not AU: AU.
Once upon a time, there was a young woman whose name was Rose Tyler. She was small, but she was strong. She was clever, and she was the nicest person on Earth. She was a volunteer in a lot of charity organisations to help the most penniless people around. She was living in a small village, close to a huge forest, and she was the most beautiful woman on Earth. Her mother was crazy about her, and all the boys wanted her to take them as her boyfriend. Whenever she was asked by a suitor, she just smiled and went on her way. She didn't feel ready to have a boyfriend, and even if she was flattered with those demands and compliments, she refused to be anything more than just a friend to them. One of them, a guy she had known since forever called Mickey Smith, offered her a wonderful red hood she was wearing all the time when she had to go out. She was given the name of Little Red Riding Hood.
One day, her mother did some cooking for the penniless people Rose was taking care of and put it into plastic boxes. Rose was in charge of bringing them to another village while it was still pretty hot, but the shortest way to reach that village was to cross the forest. There were a lot of legends about that forest, and one of them was saying that it was inhabited by a wolf whose fur was as dark as a night without stars, whose eyes were as blue as the clearest sky. That wolf was the keeper of the forest and was keeping everyone out of it. Its howl to the moon was as beautiful as sorrowful when it resounded in the silence of the night. Some people were saying that this wolf used to be a human being centuries ago who had been cursed after he committed the worst crime a human could commit: the murder of another human being.
Rose didn't believe any of those stories so she wasn't scared at the idea of crossing the forest. She put all the boxes in her backpack, put her red hood on and kissed her mother goodbye after she told her to be careful. Rose simply smiled, promised to be careful in the forest and left the small flat. She quickly walked to the forest and walked through it quietly. She wandered through the woods, following the ground trail. The forest was quiet and beautiful with its flowers and vegetation and huge trees. There was something magical in the air, and the birds were singing a nice song. However, the more she was sinking into the forest, the more silent it became. The birds were stopping their sing and it was darker as if the light of the sun couldn't get through the thick foliage of the trees. Rose kept walking, maybe a bit quicker than earlier. The atmosphere was becoming oppressive.
Rose didn't notice it at first. She was following the ground trail, softly humming to herself, reading the directions on the signs. She frowned when there was no sign anymore. It meant that she was lost in the middle of that forest. She kept following the trail. There wasn't any fork or crossroad so it was easy but if she met one, she wouldn't know what direction she should take. It wasn't really important at the moment. She heard a crack and turned around. That's when she noticed that the forest was very silent, abnormally silent, and that she was alone. There was no one around. Her heart started racing, thinking that the legends might be true in the end. Maybe there was a wolf somewhere, and that wolf was maybe looking at her right now. Maybe was he waiting for the good moment to jump out of his hidden spot and eat her up.
That silence and the fact that Rose felt like she was observed started making her feel uncomfortable. She walked faster, almost running to get out of that forest quickly, but she tripped over a rock and fell to the ground. She scratched her hands in the fall. She shook her head lightly to get rid of the dizziness of the fall and sat up. She froze when she heard a growl, and when she looked up, she found herself facing the wolf of the legend. It was as beautiful as the legend was saying, but they were quite far from the truth. No word could describe the beauty of this wild creature. Rose was fascinated by its fur that seemed as silky as shiny. Its eyes were indeed the blue of the clearest sky and sparks of gold were shining into them. It was huge for a wolf, almost as big as she was tall, and its slimy chops were very, very close of her face. She could even see its nose moving lightly as it smelled her.
Rose reacted pretty quickly. She jumped on her feet and started running the other way. She didn't dare looking if it was chasing her and just ran as fast as she could. She didn't look where she was going. She was just focused on the fact that she had to run away as fast as she could before the wolf could lay paws on her. She realised too late that was running on a hill. She lost her balance on the top of it and fell on its other side. She rolled down the hill, getting cut by rocks, scratched by branches, and ended up in a small basin. She was covered in fallen leaves and the fall had left her even more dizzy. Her heart was beating so fast it was being painful, and she was out of breath because of the running and fall. She had to get up and keep running. She had to get out of that forest quickly, but she couldn't move and her eyelids were so heavy… She fainted knowing that if the wolf found her, it would be her end.
"Miss? Miss, do you hear me?"
Rose slowly opened her eyes when she heard someone calling for her, when she felt someone shaking her lightly. It took her a few seconds to remember what had happened. The walk through the woods, the wolf, the fall. She sat up immediately, suddenly aware of where she was, and looked around. No wolf. Just a man. A hunter according to the clothes he was wearing and the gun in his back. She hadn't been unconscious for too long. It was still the day. Probably just a few minutes.
"The wolf…" She mumbled.
"I didn't see any wolf, miss."
She was surprised that the wolf hadn't followed her when she ran away. Maybe it had sensed that she was just afraid. Maybe he had decided to spare her. It had a look of cleverness when she was facing it, and the legends were saying it had been human before. They were right on the wolf part, it was real; so why couldn't they be right on the fact it had been a human once? And maybe that was it had spared her.
"I saw you running and then, you rolled down that hill. I came to help you."
"Thanks."
"What are you doing here all alone, miss? If you don't mind me asking."
"I was walking to the village after the forest. I'm a volunteer. I'm bringing free meals to the penniless."
She grabbed her backpack and opened it. She almost sighed in relief when she saw that all the boxes were still hermetically closed. None of them had been opened in her fall. The food was a bit shaken but it was still good. She zipped it back and got up.
"I have a car. It's not far. I'm gonna drive you. It's wiser."
Rose nodded. She dusted her clothes and followed the hunter. He helped her to climb the hill. It was surprisingly high and it was unbelievable that she hadn't broken some bones in her fall. She would just have a few bruises in addition to the cuts.
"I'm Rose. Rose Tyler."
"Henry. Henry Van Statten. I'm hunting in this forest. There usually isn't anyone in that part."
"What are you hunting in that forest, Mr Van Statten?"
"Rabbits, guinea fowls, game. I sell them on the marketplace of the village you're going to. Local products."
"You've never met a wolf while you were hunting?"
"You're talking a lot about that wolf, miss."
"It was quite impressive."
"The wolf of the legends?"
"Itself."
"I've been hunting it for years but I never saw him. It's a chance you're still alive. Lots of people can't say the same."
"Maybe."
That adventure was still intriguing her and she wondered why the wolf hadn't chased her down in the forest. Why had he spared her when people were saying he slaughtered hundreds before? Did she have anything special that made it decide to leave her alive?
"Stop."
Rose came out of her thoughts when Henry told her to stop. She noticed that he was tensed and that he had his gun in his hands. Something had drawn his attention and it wasn't some small game. It was something bigger, something more dangerous.
"It looks like today's the day I'll meet the wolf."
There was a hint of excitement and of something else in his voice. Rose couldn't tell what it was, but she felt a shiver running down her spine at the sound of it, and the look Henry gave her didn't help her to relax. The wolf was still around. Maybe it was looking for her, ignoring what was gonna happen to him if it ever got closer. Henry pushed Rose against a tree and hid behind it with her.
"It's prowling." Murmured Van Statten. "I can hear it. It's looking for something. We gotta be really careful from now on."
They didn't move from their hidden spot for a few minutes. Rose had the feeling that the only thing breaking the silence was her breath and the sound of her heartbeats as they were faster because of the fear. She now could hear the wolf too. It was close. She could hear its paws on the ground, its groans. Henry took up a position and looked through the gun sights, looking for the wolf. Rose looked over his shoulder. They stayed still for a moment before the wolf finally came in sight. Henry stroked the trigger, ready to fire soon as he would have a good angle.
"What are you doing?" Rose asked, whispering so low she was afraid he hadn't heard her.
"Shooting it. That beast is responsible for multiple slaughters. It can't be left alive."
Rose knew he was right. She knew that dangerous animals were always killed, but she didn't agree with it. That wolf had something special she could feel it. Deep down, she knew that she couldn't let Van Statten kill the wolf. She had to prevent him from firing.
"There. Just a little bit farther on the right."
He was focused. His finger was about to press the trigger when he finally got the angle but when he did, Rose managed to divert the gun. Van Statten cursed, but there was a distinct whimper of pain. The wolf had been touched. Bullet injury to the left thigh.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"You can't kill it!"
"It's a beast!"
"It didn't kill me!"
The wolf was trying to get up but kept slumping back on the ground with whimpers of pain that were breaking Rose's heart. She came out of her hiding place and walked quickly to the wolf despite what Van Statten was telling her. She knelt down close to the huge beast and put a trembling hand on his fur. The wolf weakly growled at her but she didn't step back. It slumped back to the ground and Rose looked at its wound. It was ugly, and really painful because the wolf was still whimpering. Rose gently stroked its fur.
"Shh. It was just an accident. We're gonna help you. I promise."
The wolf only cried because of the pain and Rose felt a strange buzzing in her head. She shook her head lightly to make it disappear. She looked at Van Statten who hadn't moved from his spot. He was watching her as she was talking to the wolf. He was pretty amazed that it hadn't tried to attack her, that it was actually so calm.
"Come and help! It's not gonna hurt you!"
'He's been hunting me for years. He wants my death.'
The voice came out of nowhere and Rose looked around, unsure of who was talking. It wasn't Van Statten. That wasn't his voice. Plus, he was walking towards her, pretty much angry about what she had done to his target, a target she now wanted to save. She looked back at the wolf. Her hand was still on its back. Its fur was really soft.
"Is that you?"
'Maybe it's time for me to die after all.'
"No. No, of course not. You're not gonna die."
'You hear me?'
The wolf raised its head to look at Rose. Surprise was whirling into its eyes. That was the first time in centuries that someone ever heard him, that someone ever showed him gentleness. That girl was special. She had been scared earlier, and yet, there she was.
"Yeah, I do hear you, and it's okay. You'll be just fine."
"It should be dead."
"But it won't die because we will help it."
"Why would I help a beast?"
"Because it's a human in the first place!"
"That legend is bullshit."
Van Statten gave a small kick into the bleeding injured leg of the wolf muttering that they should let it die and a loud whimper of pain escaped from the wolf's mouth. Rose felt the pain as if it was hers, and winced slightly. It was as if the wolf was connected to her mind so she could hear its thoughts and feel its pain. She looked back at Van Statten.
"It's in pain, Henry. I can feel it. It just wants to live its life peacefully."
"How can you know that?"
"It's talking to me."
"It's talking to you?"
"Yes."
Rose looked back at the wolf, lightly stroking its fur to help him to relax while she was arguing with Henry Van Statten. She didn't notice the spark that suddenly appeared in his eyes, spark that made him change his mind. He picked up the wolf the best he could, ignoring his whimpers of pain and its weak attempts to get away from that dangerous man.
"My pick-up isn't very far anymore now. Come on. There's a shelter for wild animals. Let's drive it there. They will help him."
"Thank you."
Now that Rose wasn't touching it anymore, the connection between her and the wolf was broken. She followed Van Statten to his pick-up and got into it while he was dropping the wolf off on the back of the car. He then drove to the refuge and the wolf was taken in charge there – according to Van Statten words at least. He took Rose to the village she needed to go to and went back to his business.
Rose walked to the area where the penniless people were all gathered. Most of the charity organisations were already there. She gave the boxes full of food to the person responsible of the food stand and accepted to stay and help for the food distribution. Her mind was elsewhere though. She kept thinking about the wolf, about that strange connection they had both shared for a few minutes, and how it had been able to communicate with her. She remembered Van Statten's will of killing it, and wondered if it had been a good idea to leave the wolf alone with such a threat. He had seemed pretty eager to help the wolf after she had told him that it could talk. The thought tormented her all day and she decided to go back to the shelter and make sure the wolf was fine. She needed to be sure of it before going back home.
As soon as she was free from her duty, she refused people's help to go back home, people saying it would be dangerous to cross the woods while it was getting late and dark, and just rushed to the forest to find the shelter again. She realised that it was just a small wooden house that was half falling down. It was really dark and there was no one around. She decided to come in. She called out for someone but no one answered, and there wasn't any electricity in that house. A trap. That's all it had been. Henry Van Statten had just made her believe that he was dropping the wolf to a shelter when he was abandoning him in such a dilapidated place. She cursed and used the light of her phone to see something. No one could live in there. It was impossible, but she had the feeling that the wolf was there. She looked around and finally found a hatchway in the ground.
She looked around her and listened closely. Nothing and no one around. She lifted up the hatchway. No sound came from the basement and it was very dark. Not even the smallest ray of light. Maybe she could just go down and see if the wolf was there. She couldn't go back before she knew if it was safe and fine.
"Are you in there?"
Her voice was barely a whisper but wolves had a really good hearing so it wouldn't have any difficulties to hear her if it was there. She waited for a possible answer. Maybe it was sleeping, or knocked out? Or maybe it wasn't there? Maybe it was dead? She refused that option though. She refused to think that the beautiful wolf could be dead. A small whimper came to her ears. Hope immediately filled her mind and she started going down the ladder, using the light of her phone to know where she was going. She closed the hatchway behind her so no one would get suspicions that she was in there. She followed the whimpers – the wolf obviously had recognised her and was calling her – and finally managed to reach a small and very cold room. She shivered when she came in. She found some candles and matches and lighted them up.
The room soon was enlightened with a soft orangey glow and Rose could see that she was into some sort of bare cell. Walls and ground were made of brutalism, and it was so cold here. Rose turned around and her heart broke when she saw the wolf laying on the ground, heavily enchained. His leg had been taken care of, it was wrapped into a bloody bandage. The wolf didn't move when she sat down close to him and placed her hand over its side. She felt the buzzing in her head again, and a feeling of safety and relief filled her mind. They weren't her feelings, they were the wolf's ones and she was surprised of its reaction to her. At least, it wasn't gonna be aggressive. It relaxed to her small strokes and closed its eyes. It was exhausted and in pain, but it felt better now that she was here. It knew that Rose wouldn't hurt him, that he could get some rest while she was here.
"Can you hear me?"
'Yes.'
"So, the legends were true?"
'All legends have some truth in it.'
"You were human?"
'I still am. I've just been cursed.'
"When was it?"
'I can't remember exactly. There was a war. My only fault was to take up arms and to lead the opposition and protect my family from the enemies. It was us or them. I decided to go against them. I won, but I had to kill a lot of people to keep my family and my entire village safe.'
There was remorse and pain in its words. Rose was listening quietly to his story. His accent and his way of talking were telling her that it hadn't been a war of this century, and there had been too many wars in the History for her to guess which one it was.
'When I came home, my family barely recognised me because I was covered with the blood of our enemies, and they said I now had the look of a killer. They've rejected me, thrown me out of the house. The inhabitants of the village chased me down with torches and forks. I had to hide in the forest.' He swallowed. 'A witch found me, and when I told her my story, she said that I was unforgivable. She turned me into a wolf and told me that people would see me my true nature this way. She added that I would forever feel the thirst of blood, feel the need of slaughtering people, and that no one would ever love the monster I was.'
"But that's unfair. You just wanted to protect your family. You were the bravest man of the whole lot."
'That's not what they thought back then.'
"The legend said you were the unforgiven. Forever stuck into a wolf's body for your crime."
'I was condemned to a life of solitude, to always remember what I've done, to always feel the guilt and pain. I was condemned to be hunted by men just like I've hunted them before. And no one ever showed me mercy.'
"They said you slaughtered hundreds of lives… But you've spared mine."
'I never attacked anyone. Never. Not once since I'm in that body.'
"The real monsters are not always the ones we think."
She could feel that it was weak and tired and yet, it stayed awake and kept talking to her. She didn't know why it was telling her its story, why she felt so much trust coming from it.
'I never meant to scare you earlier. I just wanted to make you go away before Van Statten found you. He's a terrible guy. He locked me down here and took care of my leg. I don't know what he's going to do to me.'
"I have to get you out of here quickly, before he comes back."
'It's already too late.'
Its enhanced hearing had heard the motor of the car. Van Statten was back, and he was gonna be there in a matter of minutes. He couldn't find Rose. She had to hide. The wolf didn't want her to get into troubles for trying to help him, but she was stubborn and refused to go. Whatever he had in mind, they would face it together. And she couldn't run away, Van Statten was already in the basement.
"I should have known you would come back for that beast."
"I wonder who's the true beast in the story."
She didn't move. Neither did the wolf. It was so heavily shackled that he wouldn't have been able to move anyway. A heavy ring of metal was closed around its neck and its paws were all chained. It had no chance of going out of here. Van Statten had made sure of that.
"I gotta thank you though. That beast kept running away from me for years. You came around, and I had the chance to finally capture it."
"What for? Now that you have him, what are you going to do with him?"
"Nothing for now. I'm much more interested in your person."
He eyed her up. His gaze stopped a few times over the curves of her breasts and the curves of her bum. She could only imagine what he had in mind right now. The wolf growled and Van Statten just laughed. The beast was powerless against him. A spark of disgusting lust sparkled in his eyes and before anyone could make a move, he grabbed Rose and pinned her to the closest wall. He buried his face in her neck while his hands were firmly holding her against the wall. She struggled, making it difficult for him to do anything. The wolf kept growling at him. It refused to be a witness of such a scene. He wouldn't let that monster hurt the girl with the red hood. It struggled against his own shackles and tried to forget the pain to get up. It took him several minutes before he could manage to get on its four legs. It was trembling, but it could do it, for the girl that showed him so much gentleness.
Since it was bigger than a normal wolf, it could reach Van Statten more easily. It pulled on its chains the best he could and lunged forward. With a lot of efforts, he managed to bite Van Statten's calf before he could do any harm to Rose. Van Statten screamed loudly and kicked the wolf who slumped back on the floor whimpering because of the pain. A discharge of a Taser gun shook its body and left him unable to move while its body was agitated with small convulsions.
"Don't touch him!"
Rose took advantage of the distraction to punch him in the face and to kick his groin. Van Statten collapsed to the ground, knocked out, and Rose knelt back down close to the wolf. It didn't seem alright. It would die if she left him here. She started looking for the keys of the chains in Van Statten's pockets. The room was suddenly enlightened by a bright blue light who disappeared as fast as it appeared. Rose turned around to see from where it had come from and frowned. The wolf wasn't there anymore. The silhouette of a tall and thin man had replaced it. He was hunched up in the ground, tangled in the chains that were still holding him. He was completely naked and Rose blushed at that sight. She turned her head away and kept looking for the key. She heard the man moving, trying to remember how a human body was working, and finally found the keys.
She tried not to stare at his naked body but she couldn't help but notice the goose bumps on his skin and how badly he was trembling. She couldn't tell if it was just the cold, or the fear of being back to a human being in a century he didn't know anything about. She got rid of all the chains and helped him to get up. The wound was still there, and it was bleeding but they had no time to take care of this now. They had to run away from here before Van Statten woke up. Rose grabbed the man's hand and pulled him out of the room. After centuries in the body of a wolf, the man had a lot of difficulties to walk on his two legs, and the fact that one of them was wounded didn't help, but he didn't complain and followed Rose the best he could. Climbing the ladder was a real difficulty but he managed to reach the top of it. Only to collapse on the ground because of the pain.
His first reaction was to curl up and try to get himself warm, which wasn't easy now that he didn't have fur anymore. It felt so weird to be back into a human body and he was having a lot of difficulties to get used to it again. Rose looked at him as he was shaking from the cold and the shock of the sudden change. She ran outside the small house and found what she was looking for: the pick-up. She opened the door and stole a blanket. She brought it back into the house and covered the man's body with it for him to get warm quicker. She helped him to get up once again and helped him to walk to the car. She had stolen Van Statten's keys. She made the man sit on the passenger seat and buckled him up. He curled up under the blanket and looked around him. He didn't know what a car was or how it was working and got scared when she started the car. She put a hand on his arm.
"It's okay. It's a modern means of transport. It's quicker than horses, but it's not dangerous. I swear. I'm driving you to my home. My mom and I are gonna take care of you."
She locked the doors though to be sure he wouldn't have the idea of jumping outside the car while she was driving. She drove out of the forest, turning on the heat so he wouldn't be so cold anymore. He remained curled up on the seat looking at all the strange things around him.
"You saved me."
His voice was croaked, and the words were hard to pronounce. He hadn't used his mouth in centuries. It was weird, really weird but he was too busy looking around him to get a proper look on his body.
"I did."
"You broke the curse."
"I did nothing, really."
"You saw past my killer nature, and stood up for me. You broke the curse."
"Good thing I was there then."
"But I don't belong this century. I-I don't have anyone left. No family, no friends."
"Don't worry. I won't leave you alone in this. I'll help you."
"Thanks."
Now, she just had to find a really good explanation to give her mother when she would be back home. She was late and she was with a totally naked guy that clearly wasn't from the century. Well, Jackie wasn't gonna care about the century because he was a naked man and because he was close to her only daughter.
"You know the tale of the Little Red Riding Hood?"
"My mom was telling it to me when I was younger. A friend of mine gave me the red hood and people started calling me that way." She smiled at him. "It's not a bad nickname."
"You are wiser than the original Little Red Riding Hood."
"Because I saved the wolf?"
"You saw the real monster, and didn't let him do any harm. Little Red Riding Hood got her grandmother to be eaten and she was eaten up to in the end."
"That's not the end my mom was telling me."
"The real fairy tales aren't for kids."
But he was right though. The original story, the one Charles Perrault had written in January 1697, ended in a tragic way and the moral of the story was that cute little girls always were eaten up by the wolf because they were getting fooled by its words. They didn't see where the true danger was, but Rose hadn't been one of those stupid little girls. She had seen the danger and come back to help the true victim of the story before it was too late. And the man who lived in the body of a wolf for centuries would never be able to thank her enough for breaking his curse.