A/N
I rewrote the end of this chapter as I wasn't happy with how it turned out.
Aries was jerked awake when she found herself almost thrown from the jump seat when the TARDIS finally landed, though was stopped by her nephew. Mickey was quick to stop covering her and straightened when he noticed that she was conscious, a relived smile lifting his lips.
"Are you okay?" he asked as Aries groaned, straightening in the seat as a hand went to her head; blinking a few times as she tried to gather her thoughts. However she found that she was overwhelmed with a feeling of absolute confusion; almost as if her mind was spiralling out of control that made focusing on anything almost nigh impossible. Managing to focus on her nephew for a moment however, Aries found that he was waiting for an answer with a concerned expression and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine," she told him before she frowned, realising that it wasn't her mind that was spiralling.
Whatever the Doctor had done to speak mentally with her before he had regenerated, it had somehow opened a two-way – door? - in her mind, allowing her to sense his spiralling thoughts and feelings. And it had been done without the direct use of legilimency, and a total disregard of her occlumency walls.
Aries had no time to think on how that had even been possible, as movement behind Mickey caught her attention, and she looked just in time to see the Doctor quickly pushing himself up off the floor and head for the TARDIS doors.
"Stop him!" she shouted as the Time Lord's mind spiralled further. Never in her life had she experienced a mind so out of sorts, and she knew that something had gone wrong with the Doctor's regeneration. The first – and last – time she had entered his mind, the witch had found a mind more organised than her father's. And Severus Snape was a master of Mind Magicks.
Mickey hesitated, knowing that the Time Lord had asked him to stay with Aries, but quickly took off after the Doctor when the sound of his voice talking with someone reached their ears.
Another groan passed Aries' lips as she managed to stand, using the jump seat to keep herself upright as she tried to work out a way to separate the Doctor's wild thoughts from her own. It was hard to do, as his hurricane-like thoughts made it hard to focus on her own. But the red head closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as she recalled her fathers' teachings.
As the last of Rieka's Potions class finally managed to make themselves scarce – which wasn't hard considering who their Professor was –Rieka finally looked up from scratched, burned, and chipped desk in front of her and towards the wizard seated behind it as the door slammed closed. Most of her classmates had sent her pitying glances, though she ignored them knowing that them thinking she was in trouble helped her spend a few more precious, scarce, private moments with her father before their roles had to be reinstated.
The moment the door had closed, wards wrapped around the room to protect them against eavesdroppers, as well as any unsuspected guests; which the young witch realised as she reached out to the wards; probing them to make certain that they were secure, included the Headmaster. Whatever her father wanted to speak with her about, Rieka knew that it must be important enough for him to ward Dumbledore out of his classroom.
Severus continued to examine one of the potions that had been handed in at the end of the class, and the only tell that he showed to signify that he knew Rieka was probing at his wards curiously was a raised eyebrow. And although the rest of his feature's remained devoid of emotions, the young witch could also see the slight, upwards twitch of his lip, silently telling her that he approved of her actions. She sat there quietly, waiting for her father to speak as he placed a vial down and wrote something on a piece of parchment, the quill tipped in red ink moving quickly over the paper.
"Even if we can slip into each other's mind with no resistance," he said after a minute, finally looking up from what he was writing to meet her gaze, "I want to teach you how to guard memories from any intrusion...even against my own."
His words had Rieka frowning, rather confused as to what he was talking about. She already knew how to guard her mind. It had been one of the first things he had taught her when he felt she was ready. "But you don't intrude into my mind," she told him honestly.
Severus shifted in his seat, his gaze dropping from hers as he frowned and Rieka's own frown deepened. Her father may be more open with his feelings while in private, but she had never seen him this uncomfortable before.
"It is not that I do," he explained after another beat of silence, "But by the end of the school year, you will have turned fifteen. Sixteen by Christmas. You will be..." he trailed off, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to gather his thoughts. This was not a conversation he was prepared for. "Along with...other changes, your mind will also change. As you mature, your thoughts will be more affected by your emotions and...hormones."
Rieka's eyes widened as she felt her cheeks heat up, feeling rather mortified by what her father was getting at. "Oh," she murmured as she looked down at her hands. It hadn't escaped her notice that her body was changing as she aged, and she had had found most of her answers from books or the occasional conversation with Amelia. The witch felt her cheeks warm further. Never had she thought she would have this conversation with her father.
She only looked up from her hands when Severus cleared his throat and realised that he must be feeling just as – if not more – uncomfortable about the topic as she was. She had to fight back a snort that threatened to escape her, never having imagined that Severus Snape, Death Eater and Dark Wizard, would be having the talk with someone. Let alone her.
"Teenagers have this unfortunate time where their hormones and imagination runs away from them," Severus continued with a grimace, "And I would rather not have such thoughts enter my mind when you unknowingly project them." He picked up another vial, choosing it to focus on as his daughter continued to impersonate a tomato at the realisation that she may have already accidently done what he was saying. "So I thought that it would a good time as any to start teaching you how to keep those thoughts to yourself," her father finished, glancing up from the vial and raising an eyebrow.
Still blushing furiously, the red head nodded before she looked back down to her hands. "I can see how that would be a good idea," she agreed, rather glad that her father had thought about this. She really didn't know what she would do if she hadn't realised this and he had seen something embarrassing. Her cheeks grew even warmer as her blush darkened. "How would I lock those memories away?" she asked, still not looking at her father.
Having more experience in occluding against things he didn't want to think about than his daughter, Severus looked up when he had managed to push away the awkwardness of the conversation and focused on teaching his daughter. "It will be the same as how you occluded and hide memories from others, but you will need to remember that with this form of occlumency, you are focusing on keeping them away from me. So instead of just blocking them from everyone, you need to focus on blocking them from my specific magical signature," he explained.
His words had his daughter frowning once more as she looked up from her hands, her mortification being replaced in her curiosity to learn something new. "So, I would be locking them behind my walls, but also trying to keep them away from you," her eyebrows furrowed, "How would I do that?"
"It will be almost like a mind trap. The moment I enter your mind, the trap will snap into place, locking those thoughts from me. Once you've learnt how to include the trap to certain memories, it should be almost instinctual for your mind to hide them from me. Remember, it doesn't complete block them from me, but it should stop them from being immediately found or accidently projected," Severus explained.
Rieka tilted her head to the side as she thought about it, "So if I have them...say, in a box that I keep behind my walls, and then set up a trap keyed into your magical signature that will hide it from you, that should work?" she questioned.
Severus smiled slightly, his lip curving upwards. "Exactly, Rie. Since we are bound magically, it should be easier for you to key it into my signature," he sighed, "But it won't be easy to hide them. I want you to practice on being able to notice when I enter your mind, focusing on what my magical signature feels like. Over the next few weeks, I will be entering your mind during classes and I want you to be able to realise when I'm doing it. When you have managed to do that, we will work on starting to build the trap so when you do notice my presence, the trap will activate and lock away a memory we will use. It will stop any accidental projections as the moment your mind senses mine, the trap should immediately activate."
Nodding, Rieka got up and grabbed her bag, knowing that their time was up as she felt the wards around the classroom drop and could hear the next class gathering outside the door. "I have transfiguration now," she stated, and her father nodded.
He handed her a piece of parchment, "Give this to Professor McGonagall so you won't get into any trouble."
Rieka grinned as she read the note, noticing it was a detention slip. "Can't wait," she said before schooling her features and heading to the door.
"And next time you decide to daydream in my class, Miss Lestari, it will be a month," Severus called after her, his voice now more firm and cold; falling back into his 'Professor' persona as his daughter slipped out the door, her face convincingly ashamed for the students waiting outside.
Aries tried to focus on blocking the Doctor's mind from her own, but was finding it rather difficult. She was essentially trying to do the opposite from what her father had taught her, and the fact that the Time Lord's intrusion was nothing like she had experienced before, nothing like any form of legilimency she had come across, it was proving strenuous. How he had managed to breech her occlumency walls, or even how she could not only sense his presence, but his feelings as well was something she tried not to think about. His presence was so different to her father's, but... welcomed at the same time, and it almost scared her.
"This is all your fault!" Rose's voice hissed, cutting through the red heads concentration and Aries opened her eyes, still trying to keep the Doctor's mind from battering against her own as it continued to spiral out of control.
"How is this my fault?" the red head questioned, her posture straightening as she looked to Rose, not showing the slightest of emotion as she pushed her own thoughts and feelings into the 'box' inside her mind. It was a last resort, using it in a way to not keep the Doctor out, but to protect and keep her own mind separate from his.
"The Doctor would still be here if it wasn't for you!" Rose exclaimed, "He wouldn't have gone and changed. If you hadn't met hi-"
"What?"
Aries voice was cold as she cut the blonde off. She managed to force herself not to sway as she took a step forwards, her eyes narrowing on Rose. "If I hadn't met him, that he would have chosen you?" she asked as it suddenly – and quite vocally – hit her as to why Rose had been so confrontational with her any time they had met.
"Yes!" the blonde exploded in frustration, though her outburst only had Aries raising an eyebrow.
Magic curled around the witch, almost as both a way to protect herself in needed physically from Rose, as well as comforting mentally as Aries could faintly feel the Time Lord's mind descending further into madness around the small 'box' she had mentally retreated to; though for some reason the Doctor seemed as though he was getting worse. But Aries had no time to think on why as she stared at the blonde before her; even though she could feel herself growing faint and light-headed. She wasn't going to back down, however.
"You know what, Rose Tyler. You're nothing but a spoilt brat," the red-headed witch spat as her eyes glowed in the dim lighting of the console; from silver-grey to reddish gold, and a breeze begun to billow around her, "And I've had more than enough of your childish attitude."
Rose was forced backwards, stumbling as the wind Aries had created whipped towards her, and her eyes grew wide in alarm as the woman took another step towards her.
There was no Doctor to interfere this time...
"You do nothing but bicker and complain, believing that the world owes you what you believe belongs to you. But you forget. The Doctor is not an object to be had. He doesn't belong to anyone," the witch stated, though a sneer appeared on her lips as she continued, "I wonder... what does you boyfriend think about you chasing after other men? What does Mickey think about his girlfriend leaving him behind; dumping him behind in an alley like yesterday's trash."
The young woman had the decency to look... Aries wouldn't have called it ashamed, but the witch knew that her words had hit home by the way Rose's face paled. Though the blonde's colour was quick to return, more than before in fact as her eyes narrowed on Aries. "My relationship with Mickey had nothing to do with this!" she snapped.
Aries blinked. "Your relationship," she said with a frown, "Has everything to do with this. The way that you have treated Mickey is nothing but deplorable," the red head pointed out before pausing, noting that the expression on Rose's face hadn't changed. Shaking her head, Aries' eyes returned to their normal silver-grey and the wind begun to die down, finding that it was pointless to try and talk with the stubborn blonde. "You disgust me, Rose Tyler," she said before turning away from Rose and approached the console, still feeling faint, "Just go. Go be with your boyfriend and leave me be."
Rose looked taken aback by Aries' words for a moment before she exploded, her anger returning with a vengeance. "You can't tell me to go!" she cried indignantly as she took her own step towards Aries, furious at the thought that the red-headed woman believed that she could order her out of the Doctor's TARDIS. "This isn't your ship! You don't even have a key!"
A low hum reverberated throughout the console room as Aries turned on her heel to face Rose, her eyes flashing golden as her magic exploded outwards that had Rose being knocked off her feet and thrown backwards towards the door.
"Leave!"
The red head's voice was overlapped with another as her voice boomed throughout the console room, and Rose scrambled to her feet, looking at Aries with wide, fearful eyes before rushing to the doors when another low, warning hum echoed through the air.
Without looking back, Rose disappeared through the TARDIS door, which slammed closed behind her. And the moment it did so, Aries sagged against the console, her eyes closing in both exhaustion and light-headedness. The Doctor's mind was still swirling, though he seemed to have calmed for now, though Aries found that she was still feeling a little out of sorts, her magical outburst not having helped her at all.
The red-headed witch slid down to the floor as the ship let out another hum, this time comforting, that managed to draw a small smile from Aries.
"Thanks girl," she murmured as she rested the back of her head against the console; relishing in the feel of the cold metal against her head as her body relaxed.
The last thing she heard before the lull of the Sandman drew her under his embrace, were the whispered words, You're welcome, my Wolf.
Mickey Smith frowned as he continued to pace the length of Jackie's living room, his gaze continuously flickering towards the back door as he waited for his aunt to appear. The Doctor was currently laying in the older Tyler's bed after having collapsed outside of the TARDIS, having been left in the care of Rose and her mother as they made certain that nothing else had gone wrong with his regeneration... not that they really knew what they were looking for in the first place.
Mickey, was worried about Aries, however.
When he had asked his girlfriend as to what had happened while he'd been trying to get the Doctor to stop talking before he suddenly collapsed, Rose had told him that Aries had gone for a walk through the TARDIS after she hadn't followed the blonde out of the ship. And despite his earlier thoughts on Rose and their relationship, he had no reason to think Rose had been lying to him as he knew that was something his aunt was known to do when she needed space. That, or play her violin, of which Mickey had only ever heard his aunt play when his gran used to drop him off to her lab in Wales. He was never certain as to why she'd never play the instrument in front of him, and the smile that appeared on his gran's lips whenever he had asked had always confused him.
But after everything Aries had been through, Mickey could understand her need to be alone to gather her thoughts. He was barely able to hold his own together after everything that had happened, and couldn't imagine what his aunt was going through with the revelation that the Doctor did like her, as well as having him then go and, not die on her, but... change?
A huff escaped the young man as he sunk down onto the lounge and turned the TV on as he tried to clear his head. He sighed, running a hand down his face not minutes later when his thoughts continuously drifted back to Rose and what he had heard inside the TARDIS. Mickey was still having a hard time processing and accepting what he had learnt - heard - but he thought he was starting to see the bigger picture... the truth. Ever since Rose had met the man almost two years ago, all she had been able to talk about was the Doctor. It was always the Doctor this, and the Doctor that. And as Mickey's thoughts continued to circle, he realised that he'd been questioning their relationship for far longer than he wanted to admit.
He realised that he had been ever since Rose had just left him in that alley to travel the stars with the Time Lord. He hadn't wanted to see it for what it was then, but knew deep down – even back then – that their relationship had, and always would be a lost cause. He just had never wanted to admit it. But now...?
"Oh Aries. I'm so sorry," Mickey muttered hopelessly into his hands as he realised that Aries had always known, and had only been trying to protect him. And he had treated her like an absolute jerk.
Slumping, Mickey's head fell backwards as his hands dropped from his face and stared at the ceiling, not even listening to whatever was on the television while his thoughts continued to run riot in his head. The young man didn't even notice when Rose and Jackie walked by and entered the kitchen. How could I have been such an idiot? he thought bitterly, I treated her like she had no clue as to what she was talking about, but she knew more than what I did...
He wanted to be angry with Aries, to blame her for never telling him; wanting to take his frustrations out on her, but Mickey knew that she didn't deserve it.
If anything, Aries deserves an apology.
"How should I know?" Rose's voice sliced through Mickey's musings, and the young man sighed as he turned his head towards the kitchen and listened to what Rose was complaining about now. It's all she had been doing ever since she'd stepped out of the TARDIS. "The thing is, I thought I knew him, Mum. I thought him and me were..."
A snort escaped Mickey at Rose's words, unbelieving that she was still delusional in the idea that there was something between her and the Doctor. Though a frown was quick to appear on his lips as he continued to listen.
"And then Aries appears like some wannabe hero, and he goes and does this. I keep forgetting he's not human."
"Course he's not," Mickey piped up as he pushed himself off the couch and walked into the kitchen, his frown deepening at the startled and guilty expression that was on his girlfriends' expression. Is that it, then? he asked himself, I only exist to her when she needs something? Pushing the depressing thought away, Mickey continued, seemingly unaffected by Rose's expression. "I've told you that since the day I met him."
A scowl appeared on Rose's face as she looked away from Mickey, and deciding to ignore his comment, she refocused on her mother. "The question is, where'd you get a pair of men's pyjamas from?" she questioned the older blonde, and Mickey just shook his head and left the kitchen. He knew there really wasn't any point in getting her to see reason. Even the Doctor had told her that he wasn't interested; repeatedly, as far as the young man knew, but Rose still continued on like he was. That somehow she stood a chance to win him over.
A knock on the door caught his attention and he called, "I'll get it!" before he made his way to the door. Though the moment he opened it, a gasp passed his lips as his eyes widened.
"Aries!"
It wasn't long after Mickey and Rose had carried the unconscious Time Lord up to Jackie's flat when a blinding flash of light lit up a nearby alleyway.
Moments later, a slim, hooded figure stepped out of the shadows and quickly headed towards the TARDIS.
Pulling out a silver key from a pocket of their coat, the figure looked around before they unlocked the ship's door and slipped inside.
The TARDIS' lights flickered in delight as the newcomer closed the door behind them and pulled down their hood with a smile, revealing a head of long blonde hair.
"Well, hello Sexy," a females voice greeted warmly, their tone filled with affection for the sentient ship. "Oh, I really had forgotten what you looked like," they continued even as they made a beeline for the slumped form of Aries. Kneeling before the unconscious red head, the blonde looked to the rotor as she asked, "Think you could help me wake her? Probably better that you do it than me, if I'm being honest. I really don't want to be blasted across the room... again."
There was an affirmative hum that filled the room and the woman's smile grew as she watched Aries begin to stir.
A frown pulled at the red head's lips as she felt the TARDIS tugging gently on their link, trying to rouse her from the darkness she had succumbed to. And as her eyes flickered open, wondering why the ship was trying to wake her, the witch startled when she found a woman with long blonde hair kneeing in front of her, a warm smile on their face. She tensed, immediately alert, though was calmed when the TARDIS filled her mind with a comforting warmth as the ship explained soothingly.
She's a friend, my Wolf.
Aries blinked as she continued to stare at the smiling blonde, trying to work out why the woman looked somewhat familiar, but just couldn't place why. Her hair was straight, just passing her shoulders, with chocolate brown eyes and slightly tanned features. She looked only a few years shy of thirty, and when the red head shook her head to try and gather her thoughts, the movement caused groan to escape her as her vision begun to swim; the room starting to spin.
"Easy there," the blonde said softly as she moved to help Aries stand. "Take it slow. Deep breaths. That's it," she coached as the witch shakenly managed to get to her feet. The woman wrapped an arm under Aries' shoulders, letting the red head to lean against her. "They told me that you'd be pretty much out of it, but considering everything that you've just gone through, I can't really blame you."
The frown on Aries' lips returned, her brows knitting together as she turned her head to look at the blonde. "D-do I know you?" she questioned.
The woman just smiled as she said, "In a way," before introducing herself, "I'm Vera. Vera Bourn."
"Vera..." Aries repeated, trailing off. Even the name sounded familiar on her tongue. Like she had spoken it before. Though as the pair made their way to the ship's doors, she glanced to the blonde again as another thought hit her. "How?" the witch managed to ask as the doors swung open for them. She was rather confused as to what was going on, as well as how Vera had gotten inside the ship.
"It doesn't matter," the older woman replied as she shifted her hold around Aries so they could get through the doors without bumping into the sides. "What matters right now is that you need rest, and sleeping on the floor of the console room is not a good place for that," she finished.
Aries' head jerked back to Vera, surprised to hear that she knew the ship, though the moment they stepped through the doors – the TARDIS closing them after they were clear – the red-headed witch found that talking, let alone thinking was too much trouble as she was suddenly swamped with the Doctor's thoughts that once again had her head suddenly spinning. Though Aries gritted her teeth together as she let Vera lead her up towards the flat she knew the Tyler's lived at. It took the duo a while as they made their way up the stairs, having to stop multiple times because of Aries' growing nausea when her dizziness got too much, and when they finally made it to the floor that Jackie's unit was on, the witch was sweating profusely and looking very pale.
Vera shifted her hold on Aries for what felt like the hundredth time before managing to knock on the door without having the red head collapsing on her. There was a second before the familiar voice of Mickey Smith could be heard on the other side before it opened to reveal the young man himself.
Though a gasp left him the moment his eyes laid on his aunty, and the red head's name had escaped him before he had rushed forwards to help Vera support Aries the moment she had started to pitch forwards, unable to stay conscious a second longer. "What happened?" he asked the blonde as he helped them inside, not even questioning who the woman was and what she was doing there. His thoughts were only on his aunt.
"She was unconscious in the TARDIS," Vera explained as they walked through the living room, Aries being held up between them, "I was told to bring her here."
"Oh, my god!" Jackie's voice shrieked as she stepped out of the kitchen and noticing the unconscious red head between Mickey and Vera. "What happened?! Is she okay?" the older blonde continued on frantically.
"I thought she went for a walk," Mickey remarked, ignoring Jackie as they passed, heading for the room where the Doctor was already resting. He knew that Rose would throw a fit seeing the pair together in the same room, unconscious or not. But the young man also knew that he'd never hear the end of it if he took Aries to Rose's room. And it seemed as though Vera shared his thoughts as she let him guide her.
"She never left the console room," the blonde told him, her gaze flickering to the side where Jackie was standing in the doorway and to the woman's daughter half hidden behind her, "I found her slumped against the console."
They managed to manoeuvre Aries onto the bed beside the Time Lord, taking her boots off. Mickey went to remove his aunt's jacket, knowing that if Aries realised she had slept with it on and accidently broke something inside one of the many pockets he knew to be hidden within, she be rather upset and annoyed, but was stopped when Vera grabbed his arm and shook her head.
"Think it'd be best if we left that on her," the blonde remarked with a confusing smile, and Mickey nodded a little dumbly as they tucked Aries in, pulling the covers over her.
The moment that his aunty had been taken care of however, Mickey suddenly rounded towards his girlfriend. "You lied to me!" he hissed angrily at Rose, "You said that she went for a walk, but she didn't. What did you do, Rose?!"
His girlfriend's eyes grew words at his sudden temper, though was quick to collect herself as she glared right back at Mickey, wondering why everyone seemed to blame her for whatever happened to the bloody red head. "I didn't do anything!" she defended herself angrily, "She threw me across the console room and I left."
Mickey shot his unconscious aunt a confused look, wondering why she would have done something like that. It wasn't like Aries to attack someone unprovoked and a frown appeared on his lips as he turned back to his girlfriend. "What did you do, Rose?" he asked her, "I know that Aries wouldn't do anything like that without a good reason."
Gaping at Mickey, unable to believe what she was hearing, Rose snapped, "Why would I do anything?! She's nothing but a freak, and I don't know why you're on her side. You're my boyfriend. You should be on my side!"
Mickey's expression darkened at Rose's words, and the young man shook his head. "My aunty is not a freak," he seethed, his hands balling into fists at his side, "And she was right about you. I thought we had something, you and me, but you've changed. Ever since you left me in that alley..." He trailed off, his frown returning, "Actually, it was even before that," he corrected. "You have never seen me as a boyfriend, have you?" he asked Rose, though continued before she could open her mouth, "I'm only someone who's been stupid enough to believe that there was something between us; always running back to you anytime you called." Mickey shook his head, "But not anymore. We're done, Rose," he declared before he pushed passed the blonde and left the room.
Vera's eyebrows were raised in surprise and she blinked when the front door was slammed shut after the young man. She looked to Rose from her perch on the end of the bed, seeing the younger blonde staring at the bedroom doorway with her mouth hanging open before she suddenly rushed after Mickey. "Wow," she breathed as she turned her gaze onto the unconscious pair in the bed, a little shocked by what she'd just been a witness to. To hear about it was one thing, but to actually witness it in person had her hearts swealing with both pride and sadness for the man she knew Mickey would become.
But she couldn't deny that there was something in seeing just how the people she thought of as family had become the people she knew.
A sigh drew Vera's gaze back to the doorway.
"I think it's been a long time coming," Jackie stated as she entered the room with a cup of tea in her hands. "I'm finally glad that he's seen the truth, however," the older blonde continued as she handed the cup to Vera. "I've tried telling him. Even she has," she nodded to the unconscious Aries before shaking her head, "But he never believed us."
"I can tell you, Mrs Tyler," Vera remarked as she took a sip from the cup, hiding her grimace at the taste as she continued, "Mickey Smith sure does now."
Jackie smiled in agreement as she went to leave the room once more, though came to a stop at the doorway and looked to the other woman in confusion. "How do you know my name?" she asked, knowing that she'd never seen the blonde before.
A mischievous, knowing smile appeared on Vera's face.
"Spoilers."
Mickey Smith trudged down a busy street with a frown on his face, lost in his thoughts as he weaved his way through the Christmas shoppers that were trying to grab some last-minute gifts. The young man didn't even notice the brass band as he walked, each member dressed up in Santa robes and masked while they played 'God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen'.
Though the sudden, and familiar voice that called out his name had Mickey quickening his pace.
"Mickey! Wait!" Rose shouted as she chased after him. She sounded breathless, telling Mickey that she'd probably been chasing him since he'd stormed out of her mother's flat. But the idea only had a dark thought slipping passed the grey matter in his mind.
Good. Let her do the chasing for once.
He didn't even acknowledge that he'd heard her as he kept up his pace. Mickey had never understood why Rose had always seemed to hate his aunt, and had originally placed her attitude to jealousy – which he found was true, just not in the way he had wanted to believe. But after everything he had learnt in the last couple of hours...
Not only had he realised that his ex-girlfriend didn't want him anymore, but that she most likely never had. And if that wasn't enough to hit him where it hurts, she had been chasing after another man while stringing him along, jealous at his aunt for her association with the Doctor. He really couldn't call it a relationship, as he believed that Aries had only just realised that the Doctor did like her, but it did make him question just how many times the pair had met.
He also wanted to ask Aries just how many men Rose had been seeing while away on her travels, though knew that he wouldn't.
Mickey, the Idiot, he thought with a scowl, knowing how poorly he had treated his aunt anytime they had spoken about Rose.
"Mickey!" the woman in question huffed as she grabbed his arm and caused the young man to come to a sudden halt.
"What do you want, Rose?" he all but snapped at her, not even turning his head to look at her as his shoulders bunched defensively.
"You can't mean what you said," the blonde exclaimed, her tone tinged with an emotion that Mickey wasn't too sure he'd ever heard coming from Rose before. Though the young man frowned as he finally faced his ex, shrugging off her hand.
"And why not?" he asked, "I'm over being second best. Just scraps left behind; forgotten until you don't get your way. I'm sick and tired of always running after you in the hopes that whatever we had was still there, and I wasn't lying, Rose. It's over. We're done," he told her firmly.
Rose moved to grab his arm again, about to protest his words, but Mickey was quick to avoid her touch as he continued.
"You need to realise that not everything revolves around you, Rose. There are other people in this world as well." He shook his head as a sense of peace suddenly overcame him after having said what he'd wanted to tell Rose for what felt like years. "Aries was right," he remarked, causing Rose to scowl at the mention of the red head, "I should have broken up with you ages ago," he admitted before he begun to walk off, feeling lighter than he had in years.
Neither noticed the brass band that had been watching them closely.
Nor the dark gaze that tracked them from across the street before the silhouetted figure seemed to vanish as they stepped back into the bustling crowd around them; their blond hair being the last thing anyone saw before a hood was drawn over their head.
"Aries!" Rose screeched, immediately seeing red at the mention of the red head, "What does she have to do with this? Did she tell you to break up with me?! Are you seeing her, is that it?"
Mickey actually grimaced with disgust as he stopped walking once more and turned to Rose. "Me... and Aries? Together? Are you mad?!" he asked, feeling far more than just disturbed by the thought. "Aries is my aunt, Rose. She's help raise me when my mother died and my father decided to up and disappear. But you wouldn't have known that, would you? You never ask about me or my life. And to think that she tired telling me for months that she didn't feel that we wouldn't work. And I..." Mickey scowled, "I told her that she didn't have a clue as to what she was talking about. That she didn't know you like I did. But she knew you better than me, didn't she? Aries was right, and like the idiot I am, I didn't want to listen to her. How many, Rose?" he snapped.
"What do you mean that Aries is your aunty?" Rose asked and Mickey just shook his head, exasperated.
"What the hell is you problem with Aries?" he questioned in frustration, "From what I've seen and heard, she's done nothing to you. All she's ever done is her job and hasn't done a single thing to earn your hatred."
"She's a FREAK!" Rose blurted out angrily, and Mickey froze at her words. His expression darkened while his eyes narrowed until they were almost slits.
"My aunty is not a freak," he asserted coldly to the now wide-eyes Rose, never having seen the young man this angry before. "She is nothing of the sort, and if you can't manage to get it through that thick head of yours that Aries has done nothing wrong to you, I would rather not speak with you anymore. Anyone who thinks of my aunt in that way is not someone I want to know."
Without another word, Mickey once again begun to walk away.
"You're choosing her over me?!" Rose exclaimed in disbelief.
Mickey paused, though he didn't turn around. "The way you're acting right now? The way you've been treating her? Yes."
Rose gapped at the young man's back, "You can't be serious? You're lying. You don't even know her!"
Mickey spun round to face Rose. "I don't know her? I don't even know you! The Rose I grew up with, the Rose I fell in love with," he shook his head sadly, "She's long gone. She left the moment she chose a complete stranger, an alien over her own boyfriend. The person who returned is not the Rose I once knew." Mickey frowned suddenly, realising how quiet the street around them had gotten, and he looked around before his gaze landed on the brass band behind Rose.
The one holding the trombone slowly lowered the instrument, right before flames shot out of its end, causing panic and chaos to erupt amongst the Christmas shoppers.
Without thinking, Mickey grabbed Rose's hand and dragged her behind a stall.
"It's us! They're after us!" she exclaimed, just as one of the band members that held a tuba shot fire at a tree near the hidden pair, demolishing it and sending the tree crashing atop of itself.
"Why would they..." Mickey trailed off as his eyes widened in realisation, "The Doctor! Aries!" he shouted as Rose called for a taxi.
Vera walked into Jackie's kitchen, shaking her head with a fond smile when she spotted the woman chatting away on the phone. Jackie never changes, the younger blonde thought as she moved to the table. "Mrs Tyler, just grabbing a chair," she said as she picked up one of the chairs from around the table.
Jackie actually seemed to take a breath as she paused with her talking to whoever was on the other end of the line, placing the device against her shoulder as she smiled at Vera. "No problem, dear. And please, call me Jackie," she told the younger woman, who smile and nodded in response before returning back to the bedroom with the chair.
Placing it near the head of the bed, closest to the Time Lord, the young woman sat down with a sigh; the smile that had been on her face disappearing as she begun to fiddle with the device strapped to her wrist. Vera wasn't sure what she was supposed to do, having only been told that she had to be there and make certain that Aries made it to Jackie's. After that, she was just supposed to wait.
What for?
Vera didn't have a clue.
All she'd been told was that she'd know when whatever it was that was supposed to happen, happened.
It wasn't long however, when Vera realised just what – or more importantly who - she'd be waiting for.
"How can you stand drinking this stuff?" a voice, feminine and heavily accented, spoke up from behind the blonde, and Vera was out of her chair and facing the newcomer in an instant; a curved dagger – almost like the tooth of a sabre-toothed tiger - appearing in her hand from a hidden sheath in her boot; the curved blade resting just on the outside of her forearm snugly like it had been made specifically for her and her alone.
"Shenin?"
The red head raised an eyebrow at Vera as they lent against the wardrobe by the door; the cup of tea that the blonde had been abandoned was held in one hand as the Time Lady eyed the steaming contents with an expression of disgust.
Vera blinked, her brows crinkling in confusion before her gaze snapped back to the bed and the witch slumbering there. Shenin had not been who – or even what - the blonde had been expecting to see... considering that the Time Lady was dead and all that. And even knowing that however, Vera knew that it was too early in the timeline she'd been sent to protect for other woman to be there.
Far too early.
The blonde knew that if the Doctor met the Time Lady before he was ready – gods, before Aries was ready – it would only lead to disaster. Though, out of everyone that had flickered through her mind that could appear, the red-headed Time Lady was a far better choice than the one she had been worried about appearing.
If there were ever a better time for Va'ly to make his move, it would be now while both the Doctor and his Nesdra were down.
"Really, Veral?"
The Time Lady pushed herself away from the wardrobe and placed the cup back onto the bedside table where she had taken it from as she continued, "Is that the way you greet family?" Although Shenin's odd, amber-yellow gaze never left Vera.
Nor the ice-blue hilted, curved silver-bladed dagger that the blonde was holding.
"I..."
A frown formed on Vera's lips as she turned back to the Time Lady, still rather surprised to see the woman... and looking so alive. Her own blue-flecked, brown eyes went up and down Shenin, pausing briefly at her long, reddish-brown hair before she froze; her gaze narrowing on a mark that marred the side of the Time Lady's neck.
Four blue arrows pointing inwards to a red circle...
"What are you doing here?" the blonde suddenly demanded, her confusion vanishing at the sight of the mark. And as her grip around her curved dagger tightened, one of the runes etched into the silver blade begun to give off a dull, blue glow. Vera shifted, placing herself between the Time Lady and the bed as her eyes narrowed warningly.
There was only one reason someone like Shenin would be wearing such a mark, and despite know just who the red head was, Vera understood all too well just what bearing such a mark represented.
Traitor.
Enemy.
Exiled.
"Well, I certainly didn't come for the tea, now did I?" the woman replied sarcastically. However Vera didn't miss how the Time Lady's gaze shifted to a point just over her shoulder and to the bed; and it had Vera fighting the urge to do the same. A trickle of confusion seeped into her expression, understanding that the Doctor and his Nesdra were vulnerable at the moment – which was the whole reason she'd been sent back to this time, making certain that the pair stayed together while they recovered – though had no idea as to why Shenin – dead or alive – would have a reason to harm either of them.
But Vera also knew better than turning her back on the Time Lady when the woman had her eye on something.
Her son hadn't learnt his ways from just anyone.
Two sides of the same coin...
The blonde's lips pinched together tightly as her mind whirled; trying to work out not only how Shenin was there, but also why the Time Lady would have picked now of all times to appear. By the mark on the side of the red head's neck, there was only one place that Vera knew of where the other woman could have come from. But even then knowing that didn't make any sense to Vera, and the blonde suddenly found herself afraid to ask Shenin exactly why the Time Lady was there.
If she was correct and Shenin had just come back from Sierauk – however possible that was – not only was there a possibility that the Doctor in danger, but so was his Nesdra. There was no telling what the Kreed had done to the Time Lady, and Vera wasn't going to be taking any chances when her family was on the line.
She'd already lost them once, and she wasn't planning on letting it happen again.
"I'm only going to tell you once," the blonde said warningly, her voice firm as she met the other woman's gaze unwavering, "However you got here, use it to leave. Now."
"No, I don't think I will," the red head stated simply, raising an eyebrow at Vera; almost as if she were challenging the blonde. "I have as much right to be here as you do."
"Don't force my hand, Shenin," Vera continued as her stance shifted from defensive to offensive, "You know just as well as I do, this timeline must be maintained."
"You think I..." the red read barked out a laugh, "You think that I actually want to change this?" she questioned, waving her hand towards the unconscious pair, and successfully confusing Vera. "The only thing I'd change about this whole, deplorable mess of a situation would be the tea," she added, sending the offending cup a dark look.
Her words had Vera blinking dumbly, though before the blonde could do or say anything, Jackie came bustling into the room with two cups of tea... and right through Shenin, causing Vera to blink once more before she realised what was going on.
"Oh, n-"
"No. Don't come around, darling," Jackie continued yammering into the handset that was being held between her ear and shoulder, not even having realised that she'd quite literally just walked through a shade of someone. "No, flats all topsy-turvy. Yeah, she just barges in and litters the place." Without a word, the elder blonde handed one of the cups to a flummoxed, though rather pale Vera, who's dagger had disappeared back into its sheath the moment Jackie had entered the room. "Yeah. No, I'll come round and see you Boxing Day," the woman continued, still not having seen the extra person in the room, and Vera raised an eyebrow as she watched Jackie place the other cup of tea on the table by Aries bedside before she exited the room as quick as she had entered; leaving the younger blonde's mind reeling.
"I swear that that woman could out-ramble the Doctor sometimes," she heard Shenin mutter, and the red head's words had Vera's head snapping back to her. Surprise and confusion warred in the blonde's eyes when she noted the sneer on Shenin's face that was directed to the doorway that Jackie had just exited through before the red head turned her gaze back to Vera. "Why don't you take a picture if you're just going to stare at me like that," the Time Lady snapped, annoyed by the younger woman's scrutiny.
"Yo-you know Jackie?" Vera asked carefully, her eyes once again taking in Shenin's appearance; making sure that she hadn't missed anything. She may have not met the woman until far later in her life, but the Time Lady she knew had never met, let alone willing spoke about the Tyler's.
"Who could forget such a decrepit woman," Shenin sneered before her eyes narrowed suspiciously on Vera. "Why does it matter to you if I- Oh!" The Time Lady smirked, and non to nicely, "You think that I'm from after he- Oh, this is gold..." A dark chuckle escaped Shenin as she took a step towards Vera, yanking up the left sleeve of her jacket to reveal her bare wrist.
No blemishes, marks, or well... anything.
Vera's eyes went wide as she stares at Shenin's forearm; disbelief written all over her features as her mind tried to accept what she was seeing. "What did you do?" she breathed, her mind trying to wrap around the fact that the mark that had always marred the Time Lady's wrist, the mark that Vera knew was impossible to remove once it was placed... was gone. "You'd never... I never wanted to believe it when Vasuki told me about when the Druid had tried... But why... why would you..."
Vera trailed off, unknowingly taking a step towards the Time Lady, though stopped short when Shenin took a step back; tugging the sleeve back down as a dark look her face.
"He's gone," she stated coldly, her amber-gold eyes seeming to darken as they bore into Vera's. The mark on the side of her neck glimmered blue briefly, and Vera blinked in surprise as she watched Shenin's hand curling into a fist at her side... almost as if she could feel the effect of the suppression collar. "And this time, he won't be coming back."
"What?!"
"You should know, Veral," the smile that lifted Shenin's lips was malicious and cruel, "Every power comes with a price."
"Shenin, what did he d-"
"Don't think he made the decision lightly," the Time Lady snapped before she paused and took in a deep breath as the mark on her neck flared once more and her knuckled whitened. "The Druid gave up everything to stop what the Kreed had started," she continued, her voice far more controlled. She shot the blonde a pointed look as she added, "Everything, Vera."
Vera, thinking quickly, tried to understand what would have caused the man she had known practically all her remembered life to have decided that the universe – this one and so many like it – were better off without the Kreed. The blonde admitted that her knowledge of the Arkentorian Council was slim to none; her tutelage having been done under the guidance of none other than Master Vasuki Skrymor himself before her life had been unceremoniously turned on its head and she had quite literally run into the man she had only known as the Druid.
But the blonde found that from what she did know about the Kreed and the Druid – from both memories and stories – what the Kreed had done to the man and his family... she really couldn't blame him for thinking that everyone would be better off without them.
To the Time Lord, the Council had been nothing but a bunch of fear-mongering fools who lived too far in the past whilst trying to control the future with powers they didn't understand. And they had taken everything from the Druid in the process.
"When?" Vera asked, mentally shaking her head when she noticed that Shenin was watching her with an evaluating frown.
The woman's frown only deepened at Vera's question, and the blonde felt as though she wasn't going to get an answer as the silence continued to stretch on between them. But finally Shenin's shoulders sagged, and the fist at her side slowly uncurled as let out a resigned breath.
"June... twenty-sixth."
"That soon!"
The words left Vera's lips in a breathless exhale, and the blonde slumped back into the seat, feeling as though her legs were about to give out on her. Her twin hearts were pounding inside her chest as her mind tried to figure out just what Shenin's words meant for not only herself, but well... everyone.
"It wasn't like he had much of a choice," the Time Lady sneered, and Vera was quick to shake her head; knowing what Shenin was thinking.
"No, no, no. I'm not blaming him," she stated quickly, already knowing that if the Druid had found the only way he could do whatever it was he was doing was to wipe the Kreed from existence, he would do it despite the consequences. "We all knew it was coming. But..." a sigh escaped her as she looked back to the unconscious pair on the bed. Worry churned in her gut as she tried to figure out what the Druid found to be so much of a threat that he had decided to get rid of everything he had been fighting for ever since he'd taken his first step in becoming a Madrai.
The sneer on Shenin's face disappeared as she watched the blonde; a brief flicker of understanding skittering across her eyes. "You know what was written, Veral," she reminded the younger woman quietly.
"He's back, isn't he?" Vera asked equally as quiet, turning her head away from Aries and the Doctor and back to Shenin.
The worry she was feeling was clear for the older woman to see, however despite the emotion on Vera's face, the Time Lady's eyes narrowed on the blonde before they flickered passed her once more and to the unconscious pair behind Vera. Her lip tugged downwards as she studied them, an emotion too fast for Vera to catch racing across her amber-gold gaze before the Time Lady was looking at her once more.
Shenin shook her head. "You know he's already here," she stated almost too quietly for the blonde to catch, and all colour on Vera's face disappeared.
The younger woman's gaze was quick to snap back to the bed as she tried to swallow down the lump that had suddenly appeared in her throat.
The Druid was already here, in London...
"Does he know that I'm here?" she asked, proud in the fact that her voice didn't waver.
Shenin's frown returned; deepening as she continued to stare at the unconscious pair. Her eyes narrowed the moment she watched the Time Lord exhale a wisp of Time Vortex before her eyes widened and she suddenly straightened; an expression of realisation flashing across her features as her gaze snapped to the blonde. "You know, I never understood it when my husband decided to take you under his wing," she remarked idly when Vera cast her a questioning look after the silence had begun to grow thick between them once more. A hand disappeared inside a pocket of the Time Lady's jacket; her gaze now solely locked onto the wisp of golden energy as it floated out of the window. "But I think, her at the end, I find that this is a rather nice beginning."
"What do you me-" Vera begun to question with a frown as she turned back to the red head, only to cut herself off when she found that the Time Lady was no longer there. With a huff, the blonde turned back around in her seat and faced the bed once more, finding that the Time Lady was still as confusing - and cryptic - as ever. And Vera couldn't stop herself from wondering if the woman would ever just talk straight for once.
"Her name should have been the Riddler," Vera muttered under her breath with a muffled snort.
Minutes later found Vera staring off into space as she mused over the Time Lady's parting words. However as she blinked and looked back to the Doctor and Aries, the blonde shook her head. She knew that trying to work out what Shenin was trying to say was like trying to solve the Skasis Paradigm - and she had been told how that had ended with a headache and an explosion – and she didn't want that for herself. Not when she needed her wits about her.
Worry still churned her gut as she leaned forwards and reached out to brush some hair away from the Doctor's face. The implications of just what Shenin had told her... she had no idea what to expect.
The Druid had returned, was already here on Earth – in London! - and that to Vera was far more troubling compared to what she already knew was heading their way.
They had been nothing but meaningless words when Vera had first heard them in her Master's office, but as Vera continued to watch over the Doctor and Aries, the young woman found the prophecy that had been spoken before her world had been turned on its head wouldn't leave her mind.