After much debate, we FINALLY decided on where to go, not that the Doctor was very happy with it. While the Doctor gobbed on with Donna, I put in the coordinates. The Doctor and I (mostly me), planned on bringing Donna to Rome, one of my favourite places to visit. I adored the ancient Romans, and it helped that I got on well with the ruler… well, rulers. No matter when we landed, they seemed to have heard stories about me from their predecessor and without meeting me, considered me a trusted advisor. It drove the Doctor mad since once or twice I'd been asked to rule by one of their sides as queen, something that made convincing the Doctor to travel there a bit difficult. Thinking of who the current ruler was, I realised it was Titus and groaned. He was exactly one I wanted to be around; although he had opened up the Coliseum, he was a horrid flirt who couldn't and wouldn't take no for an answer. After realising that I was disgusted by the man, the Doctor took great joy into teasing me about it, only stopping when I threatened to send him into his next regeneration. Hearing where my thoughts had went, the Doctor chuckled, earning a glare and not so nice words from me, which only made him laugh out loud.
Stepping out of the Tardis, I saw we'd landed in a market centre, under a clear sky. It was beautiful as usual and I couldn't help the smile that crossed my lips. As said before, Rome was one of my favourite places to visit. Hand in hand, the Doctor and I watched as Donna walked ahead a bit, taking in her surroundings. "Ancient Rome."
"It's not really ancient for them," I interjected, gesturing to the people around us. He gave my hand a quick squeeze as he pulled me to him, wrapping his arm around my waist before kissing my temple. As he did so, I couldn't help but chuckle at Donna as she rolled her eyes at our display of affection. She'd come up with a rule about it actually, having grown tired of walking in on us being incredibly affectionate a few times. I really couldn't blame her for it, we could be quite... overwhelming... at times.
"Right. To all intents and purposes, right now, this is brand new Rome."
"Oh my god. It's- It's so Roman. This is fantastic." The Doctor and I chuckled at her amazement. I was quite happy we were able to get bring her somewhere that would ultimately be enjoyable, even with the Doctor's track record. Rome was quite amazing, in both its culture and accomplishments, as well as beautiful. "I'm here, in Rome. Donna Noble in Rome. This is just weird. I mean, everyone here's dead."
"Well, don't tell them that."
"Hold on a minute." Donna turned and faced us, her eyes slightly narrowed. "That sign over there's in English," she said, pointing to a painted sign on the side of a barrow. "Are you havin' one on me? Are we in Epcot?"
"It's the Tardis Translation circuits. Makes it look and sound like English," I explained before the Doctor could, remembering just how he'd explained it to Rose and me back in his ninth incarnation as well as his current one; the man had a gob that wouldn't quit, one that often left others even more confused than before. Catching my thoughts, he nudged my side, an act that caused me to chuckle just a bit.
"You're talking Latin right now."
"Seriously?"
"Yep."
"I just said 'seriously' in Latin."
"Oh yeah."
"What if I said something in actual Latin, like 'veni vidi vici'? My dad said that when he came back from football. If I said 'veni vidi vici' to that lot, what would it sound like?"
"I'm not sure. You have to think of difficult questions, don't you?"
"I'm going to try it." As Donna walked off to a fruit seller, I looked around again, feeling as if something wasn't quite right. As if sensing my discomfort, the Doctor pulled me to him, asking what was wrong. Unable to answer him, I shrugged and continued to examine the area, my eyes stopping on one lone mountain. Remembering that Rome had seven of them, my eyes widened in realisation as to where we could be. Before I could say anything to the Doctor, Donna walked over, looking a bit dejected. "How's he mean, Celtic?"
"Welsh. You sound Welsh. There we are. Learnt something," the Doctor said as the three of us continued down the street. As we reached a small table of trinkets, I felt eyes on us. However, when I turned around, I saw nothing but a sea of people and the wave of a red cloak into an alley.
"Don't our clothes look a bit odd?"
"Nah. Ancient Rome, anything goes. It's like Soho, but bigger."
"You've been here before then?"
"Multiple times," I quickly responded. "And yes, before you ask, the fire had everything to do with him."
"Yeah… just a bit. But I haven't got the chance to look around properly, unlike a certain someone," he mumbled, put off by the memories of me off getting a grand tour of the city while he and Kie were off doing whatever they were doing, mostly getting into trouble.
"What was I supposed to do, turn them down each time we visited? That would have been rude."
"What the hell are you two on about?"
"Stories of me have been passed down from ruler to ruler. I'm each king's chief advisor." I wasn't really happy about it, but it was like how the Doctor was-is- in modern day earth- well known and talked about within the inner circle. The only difference was that there was no internet and it was much harder to get information of a violet haired woman to the masses.
"His face says there's somethin' more."
"I might have been asked for my hand on a few occasions…"
"What, so you turned down being the queen?"
"Well, I love that one too much to leave him. Besides, it would have never worked. Rome would have never worked. I've developed a love for travelling and my heart's with that idiot." A goofy grin crossed the Doctor's lips as I said that and he pulled me in for a quick kiss. Pulling away from him, gave Donna another smile.
Donna rolled her eyes at us, a laugh escaping her as she did so. Grinning, the Doctor dragged me along, leaving Donna to follow, at least until he stopped in the middle of the walkway. "Coliseum, Pantheon, Circus Maximus. You'd expect them to be looming by now. Where is everything?" I sighed about to say something when he pulled me down another street. "Try this way."
"Doctor…"
When we exited to a piazza, the single mountain loomed before us. "Not an expert, but there's seven hills of Rome, aren't there? How come they've only got one?" As Donna finished, the ground shook. Around us, people held on to object and tried to catch fragile items to keep them from falling and being destroyed.
"Here we go again," a man stated, indicating this was a regular occurrence and solidifying my fears.
"Wait a minute. One mountain, with smoke. Which makes this…"
"Pompeii," the Doctor realised, glancing at me as he did so. He knew I had worked it out, having informed him just before Donna came to the realisation. His eyes widened in terror and horror as realisation hit him. "We're in Pompeii. And it's volcano day."
Being fully aware of where we were, the three of us took off for the Tardis. The Doctor and I were intent on getting away, knowing we could do nothing to change what was going to happen the next day. It was a fixed point in time and there was no way we could interfere with what was to happen. As we ran, Donna questioned us, barely receiving a straight answer in return. I didn't have the heart to tell her that we couldn't do anything or save anyone. History just had to play out without interference.
Reaching where we had parked the Tardis, we found it nowhere in sight. I groaned, knowing since I had piloted her, I'd never hear the end of it from the Doctor and it would probably be years before he actually let me fly her again. I could already hear him in my mind, going on about the disappearance of our home. It was something I really didn't want to hear, but would continue to do so since he wanted me to know how just how upset he was. There was also the fact that I'd most likely get it from the Tardis, something I was definitely not looking forward to; dealing with the Doctor was a lot better than our girl. At least he could be placated.
"You're kidding. You're not telling me the Tardis has gone," Donna exclaimed, looking at us, worried our transport was gone.
I met her gaze for a moment before turning away. "All right."
"Where is it then?"
"You did tell us not to tell you."
The woman's head snapped to me. "Oi. Don't get clever in Latin."
"Hold on." The Doctor walked off to a man selling fruit. They had a conversation that seemed to leave him more annoyed. The Doctor began to make his way back to us, then froze, curiosity rolling off of him. He must have thought of something, because he made his way back to the fruit vendor.
As they talked, I realized I was actually FEELING his emotions again. After so long without being able to, the sensation was foreign. Still, it seemed to confirm a suspicion I had; the niggling feeling in the back of my mind. A small smile played on my lips as I realised that we were closer to being fully bound again.
When the Time Lord finally joined us, he informed Donna that we were looking for Foss Street. With instructions to reconvene in our current location a few minutes later, the three of us split up. The street wasn't easy to find but when Donna finally came across it, she yelled out to us, drawing not only our attention but the attention of bystanders. Ignoring them, the Doctor and I raced to her and smiled, happy that we were one step closer to reaching our beloved home.
As we walked down Foss Street, Donna stopped and grabbed my arm. "Well, I found this big sort of amphitheatre thing. We can start there. We can gather everyone together. Maybe they've got a great big bell or something we could ring. Have they invented bells yet?" I sighed, knowing where her thoughts were going. Unfortunately the Doctor didn't.
"What do you want a bell for?"
"To warn everyone," Donna replied as if the Doctor were stupid. "Start the evacuation. What time does Vesuvius erupt? When's it due?"
"Donna-"
The Doctor interrupted me. "It's 79AD, twenty third of August, which makes volcano day tomorrow."
"Plenty of time. We could get everyone out easy."
"No, Donna, we can't."
"But that's what you do. You're the Doctor. You save people."
"Not this time."
Donna's head cocked to the side, not seeming to understand. I sighed and began to explain things to her. "Pompeii is a fixed point in history. What happens, happens. There is no stopping it."
"Says who?"
"Says us."
"What, and you're in charge?" the woman scoffed.
"Tardis, Time Lord, yeah."
"Donna, human, no. I don't need your permission. I'll tell them myself."
I could feel his annoyance and it fuelled my own. I couldn't say anything really. I understood where she was coming from, that she wanted to save lives. Yet with this being a fixed point in time, it was impossible to do anything without facing the repercussions. That was something she didn't understand. Then again, she was only human. It wasn't her fault. "You stand in the market place announcing the end of the world, they'll just think you're a mad old soothsayer. Now, come on. Tardis. We are getting out of here."
"Well, I might just have something to say about that, Spaceman."
"Oh, I bet you will."
Rolling my eyes at the two, I grabbed both their arms and dragged them down Foss Street, ignoring Donna's yells of protest. There was no way in hell I was going to allow them to keep bickering about something none of us had control over and I was not going to let her guilt him into defying the laws that were put in place by our, more so his, people.
An earthquake rumbled through the town as we reached the specified villa. Rushing inside, the Doctor managed to catch a marble bust that the older man had failed to reach before it crashed to the floor. "Whoa! There you go."
"Thank you, kind sir. I'm afraid business is closed for the day. I'm expecting a visitor."
"But that's me, I'm a visitor. Hello." I rolled my eyes at him, a small smile on my lips.
"Who are you?"
"I am Spartacus."
"And so am I," Donna quickly interjected. The Doctor and I glanced at her, me more amused than anything.
"Mister and Mrs Spartacus and your... daughter?" I stared at the man, wide eyed. Did I really look like I could be my husband's daughter? The thought was just- it was- I couldn't even comprehend it. Was it the hair? It had to be the hair. Right?
'Definitely the hair.'
'Shut. Up.'
Donna and the Doctor stared at each other in horror. "Oh no, no, no. We're not, we're not married."
"We're NOT together."
"Rys here's my wife," the Doctor grabbed a firm hold onto my waist, as if to prove a point.
"Oh, the brother and sister," the man said, pointing between the Doctor and Donna, as if it were something completely obvious. "Yes, of course. You look very much alike."
"Really?" the two said in unison as I openly laughed.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not open for trade."
Laughter gone, I raised an eyebrow. "And that would be?"
"Marble," the man proudly stated. "Lopus Caecilius. Mining, polishing and design thereof. If you want marble, I'm your man."
"That's good. That's good, because I'm the marble inspector." He flashed the psychic paper at the man, causing the woman I assumed to be his wife to gasp.
"By the gods of commerce, an inspection. I'm sorry, sir. I do apologise for my son." The woman quickly made her way to the boy lounging at a fountain in the centre of the room with a goblet in his hand and poured it out.
"Oi."
The woman then moved to stand by Caecilius. "And this is my good wife, Metella. I must confess, we're not prepared for a-"
"Nothing to worry about. I'm, I'm sure you've nothing to hide. Although, frankly, that object," the Doctor said, pointing to the Tardis, "looks rather like wood to me."
"I told you to get rid of it," Metella hissed at her husband.
"I only bought it today."
The Doctor shrugged. "Ah, well. Caveat emptor."
"Oh, you're Celtic. There's lovely."
"I'm sure it's fine, but I might have to take it off your hands for a proper inspection."
"Although," Donna interjected, pushing her way beside the Doctor, "while we're here, wouldn't you recommend a holiday, Spartacus?"
I looked at the woman, slightly peeved. While I had a few things I wanted to say, some not so nice, it was the Doctor who spoke. "Don't know what you mean, Spartacus."
"Oh, this lovely family. Mother and father and son. Don't you think they should get out of town?"
"Why should we do that?"
"Well, the volcano, for starters." I shared a glance with the Doctor.
"What?"
"Volcano."
"What-ano?" Caecilius questioned. He, along with his wife were horribly confused, as they should be. The word hadn't even been invented yet for goodness sakes.
"The great big volcano right on your doorstep."
Ok, that was enough. I grabbed the woman's arm and pulled her to the alter. "Oh, Spartacus, we have yet to greet the household gods," I called over my shoulder as an excuse to speak more privately.
Catching on, the Doctor dipped his hand in the water, sprinkling it on the marble, and motioned for Donna to follow suit.
"They don't know what it is. Vesuvius is just a mountain to them. The top hasn't blown off yet. The Romans haven't even got a word for volcano. Not until tomorrow."
"Oh, great, they can learn a new word as they die."
"Please stop it, Donna," I practically begged. The woman turned her attention to me, her angry expression softening just a bit.
"How can you stand it?" she softly questioned. "How can you just let them die? You're supposed to make him better but you aren't. You aren't doing a thing. You're just letting him leave. You're letting him kill them. What about the children?"
Tears began to well in my eyes as her words resonated with me. I'd seen so much death. The death of a child, the most innocent of beings, always affected me most, and many children would die today. Of course I wanted to do something. Of course I wanted to save them. But that would be against one of the only laws I ever truly followed.
Any attempt to change things would lead to a paradox, so nothing could be changed; not really. The tears fell. I turned away to keep the others from noticing, but the Doctor knew. He ALWAYS knew. "That's enough, Donna."
The woman faced him. "Listen, I don't know what sort of kids you've been flying 'round with in outer space, but you're not telling me to shut up. That boy, how old is he, sixteen? And tomorrow he burns to death."
"And that's my fault?"
"Right now? Yes."
Before the Doctor and I could get another word in, a man spoke. "Announcing Lucius Petrus Dextrus, Chief Augur of the City Government."
The three of us turned to see a middle aged man wearing a cloak that covered the right half of his body enter the room. He had squirrelly eyes and greying brown hair. As I watched him, I couldn't help the feeling that washed over me. There was something wrong with him, so very wrong.
Based on the way Caecilius rushed to greet the newcomer, he didn't notice anything strange. Then again, he was human. "Lucius. My pleasure, as always."
"Quintus, stand up," Metella ordered her son. The boy groaned and grudgingly stood. It was obvious he really didn't care much for the visitor.
"A rare and great honour, sir, for you to come to my house." Caecilius held out his hand but it is ignored by Lucius.
"The birds are flying north, and the wind is in the west."
Caecilius had confusion written on his face for a moment before he covered it up with a smile. "Quite. Absolutely. That's good, isn't it?"
"Only the grain of wheat knows where it will grow."
"There now, Metella. Have you ever heard such wisdom?"
"Never. It's an honour."
"Pardon me, sir. I have guests. This is Rys, Spartacus, and, er, Spartacus," Caecilius hastily introduced, as if for a moment we were forgotten and then remembered.
"A name is but a cloud upon a summer wind."
The Doctor nudged me, a smile on his lips. I rolled my eyes at him. It seemed that every time a situation presented itself, the man wanted me to be the one to speak up. It had started in his ninth incarnation and seemed to have carried over. I suppose he thought he still had a point to prove. Still, I decided to humour him. "But the wind is felt most keenly in the dark."
Lucius looked surprised by my words but his expression quickly became stone-faced. "Ah. But what is the dark, other than an omen of the sun?"
This time I nudged the Doctor. If he thought I was going to continue this battle of wits on my own, he was highly mistaken. Besides, he's damn hot when he's clever. "I concede that every sun must set." Lucius barked out a laugh, but the Doctor didn't let the interruption cut off his point, "And yet the son of the father must also rise."
"Damn. Very clever, sir. Evidently a man of learning."
"Oh yes. But don't mind me. Don't want to disturb the status quo." I rolled my eyes. The man was usually the first to do so.
"He's Celtic," Caecilius explained.
"We'll be off in a minute."
"I'm not going," Donna said defiantly, placing her hand on her hips.
I inwardly groaned. That woman was obviously going to make this as difficult as possible. She didn't understand. Now that I thought about it, it was somewhat our fault for not explaining time travel to her in the beginning. Still, the fact that she didn't take the time to ask herself why we were so adamant about leaving Pompeii irritated me. And we already told her that Pompeii was a fixed point in time. That much should have been simple enough to comprehend.
Behind us, Caecilius spoke to his honoured guest, not aware to the conversation we were having. "It's ready, sir."
"We have to, Donna."
"Well, I'm not."
'She's a difficult one.'
'Yeah.'
'She just doesn't understand the laws of time. Her heart's in the right place, though.'
'Just bring her to the Tardis, please.'
The Doctor began to walk off, leaving me to drag Donna to the Tardis.
As I did so, Caecillius removed a curtain and revealed a stone tile carved as a circuit board. "The moment of revelation. And here it is."
I stopped and stared at it in shock, wondering how anyone of the time could have thought of such a design. It was apparent the Doctor thought so as well. In my lax state, Donna managed to pull from my grasp.
'What the hell?'
"Exactly as you specified. It pleases you, sir?"
"As the rain pleases the soil," was Lucius' response.
The three of us walked over to the tile, the Doctor in his brainy specs examining it meticulously. "Oh, now that's different, isn't it Rys?."
"Yep." I crossed my arms and turned to Caecilius. "I'm wondering who came up with the design."
"My Lord Lucius was very specific."
Looking up from the slab of marble, the Doctor glanced at Lucius. "Where'd you get the pattern?"
"On the rain and mist and wind."
"But that looks like a circuit," Donna said as I moved my gaze from the tile to Lucius. The feeling I had about him continued to grow the longer we were in his presence. Why would the man need a circuit? There was nowhere he could use it, and it definitely wasn't for aesthetic purposes, and it certainly wouldn't fit into any computer I'd seen. Whatever he had the circuit made for, it was massive.
"Made of stone."
"Do you mean you just dreamt that thing up?"
Lucius nodded, seeming to look down on Donna. "That's my job, as City Augur."
"What's that then, like the mayor?"
The Doctor laughed. "You must excuse our friend, she's from Barcelona."
"Donna," I whispered to the ginger woman, "this is a time of official superstition. The Augur is paid to tell the future."
"She's right. The wind will blow from the west? That's the equivalent of ten o'clock news."
A pale and sickly young woman entered the room. Before I could go to her side to help her to a seat, the Doctor grabbed hold of my hand. "They're laughing at us. Those three, they use words like tricksters. They're mocking us."
"We aren't, I swear. We meant no offence."
"I'm sorry. My daughter's been consuming the vapours."
"Consuming the vapours?" I questioned, more so to the Doctor who shrugged in reply. There were multiple cultures who consumed various things to create a spiritual atmosphere but those who did never looked sick or had any real adverse effects since they knew what they were doing. Whatever this young woman was consuming, it was making her ill.
"Oh for gods' sake, Mother. What have you been doing to her?"
"Not now, Quintus."
"Yeah, but she's sick," Quintus continued, obviously upset with what his sister was going through. He cared about her, and it was evident that his mother's flippant attitude irritated him more. "Just look at her."
I pulled from the Doctor and went to where the girl sat. Kneeling down before her, I examined her the best I could. It was quite difficult considering I couldn't use the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. It would raise too many questions from too many people, and leave me exhausted. No, a cursory exam would have to suffice. "What's happened?"
Before she could answer, if she actually was going to, Lucius spoke up. "I gather I have a rival in this household. Another with the gift."
"Oh, she's been promised to the Sibylline Sisterhood," Metella proudly told the man. "They say she has remarkable visions."
"The prophecies of women are limited and dull. Only the menfolk have the capacity for true perception."
I turned to him, glaring. Yet, before I could say anything, Donna spoke up. "I'll tell you where the wind's blowing right now, mate." I nodded in agreement as there was a small tremor.
"The Mountain God marks your words. I'd be careful, if I were you."
I rolled my eyes and turned back to the young woman. "Consuming the vapours?" The Doctor came and squatted beside me.
The young woman weakly nodded. "They give me strength."
"It doesn't look like it to me."
"Is that your opinion as a doctor?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Doctor. That's your name." The Doctor and I shared a glance, knowing there was o way the young girl could have that knowledge. "And yours is the Destroyer but you call yourself Cerys." My eyes widened. No one but our enemies knew me by that name and I did my damned best to keep that from surfacing, especially around companions. Whatever was in Pompeii knew about me, and most likely what I'd done and that scared me more than anything.
"How do you know that?"
She ignored his question and turned her attention to Donna. "And you. You call yourself Noble."
"Now then, Evelina. Don't be rude."
The Doctor immediately hushed Metella. He was more curious than ever and there was no way he'd pass up such an opportunity for knowledge. It was something that would get him into more trouble than he'd be able to get himself out of. "No, no, no, no. Let her talk."
"You come from so far away."
"The female soothsayer is inclined to invent all sorts of vagaries."
"Oh, not this time, Lucius. No, I reckon you've been out-soothsaid."
I nudged him. That was exactly the challenge I did not want to be made. Whatever was being ingested in Pompeii, it seemed to give the soothsayers actual knowledge of things they should never have known, and whatever was in the vapours was the cause. "Is that so, man and woman from Gallifrey?"
"What?"
"The strangest of images. Your home is lost in fire, is it not?" I grimaced, grabbing the Doctor's hand for comfort. I didn't want to think about Gallifrey, not about the war, and not about what it became. The war was still too much and I refused to dwell on it longer than what was necessary. I just wanted to enjoy the time I had with my love, my child, and our friends.
"Doctor, Rys, what are they doing?"
"And you, daughter of London."
"How does he know that?"
"This is the gift of Pompeii. Every single oracle tells the truth."
"That's impossible."
"Rys, she is returning."
The Doctor and I shared a glance, entirely confused by what the man was saying. "Who is? Who's she?" Instead of answering the Doctor's question, Lucius turned to Donna.
"And you, daughter of London. There's something on your back."
Freaking out, Donna's hands instantly went to her back as she tried to feel if anything was there. "What's that mean?" Though she tried, there was nothing occupying that space of her body.
"Even the names Doctor and Cerys are false," the girl spoke. Your real names are hidden. They burn in the stars, in the Cascade of Medusa herself. You are a Lord and Lady. A Lord and Lady of Time." Evelina fainted, exhaustion and her illness finally taking her. I had grasped onto her before she'd hit the floor and her mother rushed over to help me, crying out the girl's name. Donna and I helped the woman as she brought the girl to her room.
Once the girl was placed in her bed, I turned to Metella. It was obvious she aided in her daughter's illness and that was something that didn't sit well with me. In fact, it disgusted me. How could any parent intentionally do anything to bring harm to their child? I couldn't even imagine putting Kie through anything that would hurt him, not that he'd let me but still. He was my baby, and to harm him or have any detriment come to him would kill me in the end. I wouldn't be able to live with it. "What happened to her arm?"
The woman looked at me before sighing. "She didn't mean to be rude. She's ever such a good girl. But when the gods speak through her…"
"But what's wrong with her arm?" Donna interrupted.
"An irritation of the skin. She never complains, bless her. We bathe it in olive oil every night."
Donna turned to me. "What is it?"
My expression hardened as I stared at the older woman. Without sparing Donna a glance, I shrugged. Again, Metella sighed, this time, caressing her daughter's face as she did so. I could see that she cared for her daughter, but that did nothing to ebb my current dislike of her. "Evelina said you'd come from far away. Please, have you ever seen anything like it?"
Donna stroked the rash, coming to a realisation. "It's stone."
"Yep. And she's been inhaling it in the vapours."
"But the vapours are good. They give Evelina her sight. She's promised to the Sibylline Sisterhood."
Irritated that the woman didn't seem to understand that the vapours were the cause of her illness, and unable to be her presence any longer, I left the room and went to where the Doctor had remained. He was speaking to Caecilius and when I reached his side, he pulled me to him and rested his chin atop my head, his arms wrapped around my waist. Kissing my temple, he moved to the hypocaust and removed the grill. Giving Caecilius a small, but strained smile, I joined the Doctor by the hypocaust. It was quite unusual for the time.
"Different sort of hypocaust?"
"Oh, yes. We're very advanced in Pompeii. In Rome, they're still using the old wood-burning furnaces, but we've got hot springs, leading from Vesuvius itself."
"Who thought that up?"
"The soothsayers, after the great earthquake, seventeen years ago. An awful lot of damage. But we rebuilt."
"Didn't you think of moving away? Oh no, then again, San Francisco."
Caecilius gave the Doctor a confused smile. "That's a new restaurant in Naples, isn't it?"
I shook my head and looked around as there was a growl. "What's that noise?"
"Don't know. Happens all the time. They say the gods of the Underworld are stirring."
"Was it after the earthquake that the soothsayers began making sense?"
"Oh, yes, very much so. I mean, they'd always been, shall we say, imprecise? But then the soothsayers, the augurs, the haruspex, all of them, they saw the truth again and again. It's quite amazing. They can predict crops and rainfall with absolute precision."
"Haven't they said anything about tomorrow?" I glared at the Doctor. I was really hoping he wasn't going to actually try to hint to the eruption or even mention it. Hopefully it was just curiosity, especially since he knew better.
"No. why, should they? Why do you ask?"
"No, no. No reason. I'm just asking. But the soothsayers, they all consume the vapours, yeah?"
"That's how they see."
"Ipso facto."
"Look you."
I reached down and grabbed a handful of ash. Holding it up, I showed the Doctor, letting it trickle into his hand. "They're all consuming this."
"Dust."
"Rock particles. They're breathing in Vesuvius." Getting up, the Doctor and I left Caecilius and went to where Quintus was lounging on a couch, drinking.
"Looking a bit tired there, Quintus?" The young man looked away, taking another sip of his drink. "No need to pretend that you've been drinking heavily. It's obvious you haven't been."
The young man stared at me, his eyes wide that his act had been seen through. "How did you know?"
I shrugged, smiling at Doctor, however, decided to place his hand on the boy's shoulder, moving his attention from me. "Quintus, me old son. That Lucius Petrus Dextrus. Where does he live?"
"It's nothing to do with me."
"Aw, come on, Quintus."
"Let me try again. This Lucius Petrus Dextrus." He produced a gold coin from behind Quintus' ear. The young man stared at the coin longingly before glancing at the Doctor and me. "Where does he live?"
12/07/2015
So, while I was supposed to update on the above date but as we can all see, it's been a bloody month. I'm sooo very sorry for the long wait. I've been dealing with some things as of late and haven't really been writing. It's been like a sentence or such every so often. With things being the way they are in my life at the moment, I'll have some free time so I'll be able to update AT LEAST once a week, although forgive me if it goes a bit longer. I'll try not to make it pass two weeks. Thanks to everyone who stayed with the story. Those who favourited, followed and reviewed, I'm so grateful. Now, to get this chapter posted, off to the reviews.
NicoleR85: So glad you enjoyed the chapter. I'm sorry for the super late update. I hope you like this one as well.
Squidtastk: Love Donna as well. I would pay so much money to see Nine and her together. Honestly, it would be amazing. So glad you're enjoying the story. ]
tardiscompanion101: Thanks. I promise we'll definitely being seeing more of Kie. He's not allowed to disappear or else Rys would be extremely angry. No one wants an angry Rys after them, trust me.
margie-me:Thank you. Yeah, same here. Honestly, Donna's exactly what the Doctor needs in his life.
PS: Sorry for how I made it seem that Rys didn't like Donna. She does, but for the sake of the episode, and the fact Rys is looking at things from a Time Lady perspective, it's just how she feels about the ging in that moment.