Episode: The Snakes of Sicily
Chapter: The Sight of Blind Eyes [2/6]
Summary: Rory Williams wanted to have his stag night in peace. Amy Pond wanted people to stop flirting with her fiancé. And the mothers wanted their children safe. The Master only wanted to forget. Or the one where the Ponds get their wedding present, the TARDIS refuses to behave, and things have a (sort of) happy ending for once.
Rating: T
Sitting comfortably on the cart while a bored Doctor and a winded Rory walk by their side, Amy finds that her previous smile at the new environment and her companions' funny expressions has long since disappeared, replaced by a myriad of thoughts swirling in her head.
Eusthatios has told them a bit about his history, how he traveled with some others from the polis of Cumae to establish a new one here in Sicily a bit over two years ago. They named it Zancle, 'Scythe', after the harbor, which the Doctor told them is actually the city of Messina. Only, of course, he simply said that's how they know of the area, to assuage Eusthatios' suspicions. The native Sicilians stay away from the Greeks, keeping to the center of the island, so, until a year ago, all was peaceful. And then, with a burst of fire and thunder in the middle of the night, the monsters broke out of their underground prison at the strait. The Lady appeared not long after, and they know the rest.
So, now that he's done with his story, Eusthatios is silent, probably waiting for their story, judging by the looks he keeps giving them.
Amy, however, is more worried about her companions. Rory looks overheated, judging by his red face and the sweat on his forehead. The Raggedy Doctor, on the other hand, is completely unfazed.
And that is what worries Amy the most.
After the breakdown from this morning, Amy can't help but be worried. Sure, he looked better after letting all that out, and, once he'd processed Amy's request, he seemed to have pulled himself out of the dark pit of his memories, but still…
A shower and some breakfast can do worlds of good, but they are no miracle cure. Amy suspects he has some makeup on, to hide the bags under his eyes and the sallowness of his skin, even with how fast he heals, but she's not sure how to approach the topic without triggering another episode.
And his behavior… Kissing Rory just for kicks, no matter how much it annoys her, is something he would've done were he in his right mind, but Amy is sure this is not the case. She's afraid he's trying too hard to forget and move on, to hide away from his demons, and she fears the consequences of that. How hard will the next crash be if he continues on this manner? Is there anything she can do to stop his acting, to get him to actually face the circumstances? He can't run forever, but Amy's not sure she wants to see what will happen when he stops.
Maybe… Maybe this will be good. Something completely unrelated, something simple, to take his mind off of the worst of their last adventure, to give him some more time to fully detach from his breakdown. Maybe, after this trip, he'll be able to look back to meeting River and her words and anything else that triggered him with more objectiveness. And, this time, at least they have a trained medical professional around.
Now, the only thing left is to hope these 'monsters' aren't anything too complicated… Bah, who is she kidding? Greece and Rome were full of 'monsters' that turned out to be nothing. Giant one-eyed humanoids? Turns out, the cyclops were based on elephant skulls. Lions? Actual lions. Dragons? Crocodiles swimming across the Mediterranean from Egypt. And so on, so forth. So, nothing to worry about.
Right?
Of course, that's when they crest a hill and the Doctor tenses at the sight before them.
Standing almost at the tip of the strait, with a wooden fence keeping a flock of sheep away from a building and what looks like an herb garden, stands a large mound of dark rock with a large door-like entrance blocked by a fluttering curtain, and with its walls covered by strange pale markings the likes of which Amy has never seen before.
"There it is. The Lady's house."
"Bloody Hell. Is she a witch or something?" Rory asks breathlessly, wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand, and earning a dark look from Eusthatios.
"She's a Seer, blessed by Zeus himself. Her home wards away the monsters and guards the entrance to Tartarus, from whence they escaped. She shall chain them back down into it as soon as her soldiers defeat them, as per the Gods' instructions," he explains, stopping the donkeys in front of the closed door in the fence, which the Doctor opens without prompting. "Every week, the people of Zancle put together any food or essentials either she or the soldiers might need, to support them on their fight, and I deliver it. My nephew used to come with me, to aid in one of the few tasks he wasn't abysmal at, but in his absence, you will unload the cart as repayment for the lift and any generosity the Lady might show you."
Rory looks crestfallen at that, while the Doctor is so focused on the house that he doesn't seem to hear the words, but Amy perks up.
"You didn't say you had a nephew," she comments, paying attention to the way he scowls and his offended sniff, trying to put them together like the Doctor does any clues he comes across. "Oh, you don't like him, do you?"
"Useless is what he is. Cursed with twice the size of a man yet half of his abilities. But my brother, Philandros, he insisted the boy would find his place one day, and that his curse was rather a blessing of the Gods. His mother insists on that, too, but what good is he? Weak, tiring easily, always whining about something or other. We chose to move here after those accursed Carthaginian killed Philandros, hoping Zancle would give us new opportunities, but once a useless lump, always a useless lump," he explains with a scoff, grabbing onto the stump where his arm used to sit before stopping the donkeys and hopping off the cart once they're in front of the door. "The Lady thought he would serve well in the ranks, and took him last week. I say good riddance."
"And I say good choice," a soft and silky voice answers from inside the house a moment before the curtain is pulled back. "Welcome back, Eusthatios. Who are your companions?"
Amy stares, standing now next to Rory and the Doctor, because the middle-aged woman stepping through the door can only be the famed Lady their new friend has been telling them so much about.
Her hair is a rich black with the odd silver strand here and there, tied at the back of her head to fall over her back in thick braids. Her tunic is white, with baggy sleeves to her wrists and a vibrant purple toga, slightly longer than Eusthatios', wrapped around her torso and over her left shoulder. There are golden rings on her fingers, and she wears long earrings that almost reach her shoulders. Her skin is a beautiful caramel gold, and her eyelashes are so long and thick that Amy has trouble believing they're real.
The most surprising thing of all, though, is that, despite Eusthatios telling them this Lady is a Seer, she's actually blind, her eyes milky yet focused eerily on them.
"They're travelers I found on the road, come from a faraway land after many an erroneous landing. They came here by boat, which is why I thought to bring them to you. I was not aware the monsters were as weakened as to let boats arrive from lands unknown, my Lady."
"Curious story indeed, Eusthatios, for I was not aware of that either," she muses softly, blind yet sharp eyes looking the time travelers over before softening as they turn in Eusthatios' general direction. "Please, hurry if you will with the supplies. There is much I must yet prepare for if my boys are to have a hearty meal waiting for them upon their return from the cliffs. Oh, no, not you, young man, you sound exhausted. What penuries have you endured to arrive to this place?" she asks, waving Rory closer before he can join Amy and the Doctor at the cart.
"Uh, nothing much, really. I'm just not used to walking so much under this heat," he answers awkwardly under the Lady's sweet yet too large smile, her blindness shielding her from Amy's glare. "It's much cooler where I'm from. I'm Rory, by the way. It's, ah, it's an honor, Lady, er…"
"Lamia," she answers in a whispered breath, taking a silky handkerchief from somewhere under her toga to wipe the sweat off of Rory's brow. "And I do understand your grievances with the weather. My native land is much hotter than this one, to the point I even feel cold some days. Alas, that is not for mortals to decide, but to endure, so the Gods may keep balance on the peoples of the world."
"The Lady Lamia hails from Libya, the land of deserts in the south," Eusthatios explains as they put the last amphoras in the shed by the door, the inside of the house blocked by both the Lady's body and the curtain she pulled closed at her back. "Her talents have more than served our polis, though, and that is all that matters."
"I am more than glad to help, Eusthatios. Anything to keep my daughter safe," the Lady answers, her rueful smile far more real than her previous polite one as her unblinking blind eyes turn to them, though Amy is more focused on the fact that she has yet to pull away from Rory.
"Yes, we're all really happy. I'm Amy, by the way. Rory's wife," she hisses perhaps a bit more confrontationally than she should, but it snaps Rory out of whatever trance he'd been put in by the Lady's voice and magic handkerchief, finally stepping away from her.
The Doctor gives her a sharp grin and, even though she blushes, Amy only lifts her chin in answer.
Enough with people trying to steal her fiancé!
"Oh, child, no. You are not," the Lady answers as she pockets her handkerchief, ignoring how Rory moves to their side, though her blind eyes stay on Amy as she speaks. "But you are blessed nonetheless. He has a strong heart, one that will not give up, one which will hold onto your love until the end of the world and beyond. Not even death will take the love out of his heart," she adds calmly, and her smile turns sad even as Amy's blood grows cold.
Is that a threat? A prophecy? A Classical Greek metaphor slash poetic comment that has no hidden secret messages?
Judging by Eusthatios' surprise and the hint of pity in his eyes as he looks at Amy, it's clear which one he believes it is.
"Yes, well, that's what love is," Rory answers without a second thought, a bit unnerved but not intimidated, as he takes Amy's hand. "In sickness and in health, and all that," he adds, more softly this time, and Amy smiles warmly at him.
"Indeed. Love conquers all," the Lady agrees with a nod and a beautiful smile, as if she's truly glad for Amy and Rory despite her previous creepy words, before she turns to the Doctor, until now listening quietly as he runs his hands over the symbols on the walls with a small frown. "No matter how many worlds must be destroyed," she adds with her voice lowered almost to a hiss, and the Doctor flinches.
"What? What was that?"
"Silence will fall."
"What does that mean?"
"The blinding light of the fake star heralds the end of time. One forgets, one remembers, one burns in a box. To save one life, to save one world, to save it all… the Doctor… must… burn," she whispers, walking so smoothly that it almost looks like gliding, until she's practically in the Doctor's face.
Wide-eyed and holding his breath, the Doctor looks at the Lady, at her half-lidded blind eyes and sharp smile full of perfect pearly teeth – and snorts.
Startled, the Lady pulls back, and the Doctor laughs, humorless but with no hint of madness, so Amy exchanges a confused look with Rory.
"Oh, you're a lousy Seer, Lady Lamia," the Doctor finally manages to say between chuckles, grinning widely. "You just predicted the past. Good for you."
The Lady huffs and straightens, but instead of scowling at the derisive words, she smiles sharply.
"Nobody can truly say what the future will hold, my good… What is your name?"
"Nobody," the Doctor answers, looking down at her with amusement as her smile dims with annoyance. "And at least on that I'll agree. Good day to you and yours, Lady Lamia. Watch out for snakes," he bids her with a sharp grin, bowing and grabbing one of her hands to bring to his lips.
"And good day to you and yours, Nobody. Watch out for your ship," she answers with a smile as sharp as his, gracefully taking the kiss, and her blind eyes almost seem to follow them as Eusthatios guides the donkeys out of the property before allowing them to get on the cart.
When Amy looks back again, the Lady is gone.
"What was that about?" she asks the Doctor, who, with Rory, is now allowed to sit on the back, where the crates and amphoras were before.
"Ever read the Odyssey, Amy? That was Ulysses outsmarting the blinded Cyclops Polyphemus," he answers with a shit-eating grin, and Rory buries his face in his hands for the umpteenth time that day. "And now is when things get interesting."
"… Why?"
"Sheep."
And Amy throws her hands up.
"Can you not think about food for once in your life?" she asks tiredly, but the Doctor merely leans back on the cart and grins.
"Maybe, but now I want to try some lamb Kleftiko."
"Insane, the lot of you," Eusthatios mutters under his breath, but sitting as she is by his side, Amy hears him clearly. "What are you, monster hunters?"
"Something like that," Amy answers calmly, exchanging a grin with the Doctor while Rory and Eusthatios bemoan their luck under their breath. "What are we going to do with these sea monsters, Mister 'Nobody'?"
"Why, Miss Pond, we will arrange a meeting, of course. But first, food!"