Ch 38

In total, River was gone for three weeks. Of course, she went and visited the girls and Arthur at night, taking them out on adventures, and then dropping them back off at home. She missed the twin's birthday party but made it up to them soon after.

She made no effort to see the Doctor and gave the girls no messages to give to him. During the last week, she didn't visit at all.

During the day, she a great deal of time with Henry, trying to improve his confidence and relationship with the King. As Henry began to open up more and more, River began to delay her departure.

The King's relationship with River grew more binary through the days. They were either arguing over how to treat Henry or fawning over William. Arguing generally ended in them spending time apart and fawning tended to involve a lot of snogging.

The Teselecta grew steadily as is was programmed, easily fooling all who were around him.

The girls often questioned River as to why she was gone all day, and at least twice a week brought cards and flowers from the Doctor which River ignored.

During her last few days in the kingdom, River ensured she was on good terms with the King, nearly wearing down her hallucinogenic lipstick in the process. She also spent some alone time with Henry, working especially hard to make sure he would be alright when she left.

Though River's efforts might have only been a dent in the King's direction, to Henry she was practically a savior. He was sharing almost daily with his father about his readings, even if the man only gave a huff of acknowledgment in return. (The King had taken to ignoring the boy instead of making rude comments to his face.)

River was exceedingly proud of the progress she made with Henry, though it was upsetting that she would have to leave him as he grew more and more attached to her.

The night before she resolved to go, she sat Henry down for a final talk, assuring him that no matter what his father thought, he was brilliant and would make an excellent ruler one day. Henry confessed that he didn't think he would become heir to the throne.

"Father doesn't agree with you, that's partly why he had another son."

"Well, I want you to prove him wrong. Show him that you are perfectly capable of being King. I promise everything will work out in the end. I believe in you."

"He does not. He thinks there are specific qualities to a king that I do not have." He looked at the floor.

This mission has been so unlike the ones she used to go on. Normally, she wouldn't get involved in issues like this, or she would have just sided with the King on the matter, but now that River had children of her own, she pitied the boy that had been left to fend for himself all his life.

She gently pulled him into her arms, as she would do to comfort her own children, "I hope his ignorance will not crush your spirit. I will try to talk to him once more before my trip, but then you must do the rest. Try to show him how brilliant you are, and perhaps he'll change his mind. It won't happen overnight, it'll take time, but you have to trust that it will happen."

He sighed, leaning to her embrace. "Why must you go?"

"I have to go and visit my daughters, remember?" She murmured.

"Why can't they come here? I want to meet them."

"Well, they're still very young, and I don't want them traveling alone, but I promise that I'll take you with me another time."

He cheered up at that. "Do you have the book I gave you? You have to read it to them."

"Yes, of course, I'll read it to them. I'm sure they'll love it." She smiled.

"They're going to meet William for the first time. Do you suppose they'll like him?"

River's breath caught at the thought of the girls actually getting to meet their lost brother, the image sending an ache through her heart, "I think they'll love him." She whispered.

Henry grinned. "I believe your words have truth in meaning and I am grateful for them. I will miss you while you're gone."

"I will miss you too." She smiled, "Now, I must go speak with your father about the matter, I'll come say goodbye once more in the morning before I go."

"Goodnight." He murmured.

River spent the rest of the night with the King, trying to convince him to give his son a chance between rounds of "intercourse." The King was rather loopy from it all but he kept saying something along the lines of 'needs to prove knowledge's worth'.

"What if I promised you another heir?" She murmured, nuzzling his collar as they lay in the sheets, gearing up for another round, "When I return, we'll have another baby if you give Henry a chance while I'm gone."

The King seemed hesitant but intrigued by the offer. "What do you propose by giving him a chance?"

"You don't ever actually listen to him. He has truly brilliant ideas. He's only eleven and he already has plans on how to make the Kingdom more money through trade. Most eleven-year-olds, even if they do love to read, wouldn't be able to come up with plans like that. So, if you take the time to sit down and speak with him, and genuinely listen, then I'll have another one of your heirs."

"Can it not wait until your return?" He hoped.

"No, it must happen while I'm away."

"Why?" He insisted.

"Because that way, when I get back, we can start trying right away." She purred, kissing his jaw.

He hummed, "Very well, I will make the effort, but that does not mean I will take enjoyment from it."

She smiled, quite pleased with herself, "I didn't realize you were that eager to have another child."

"We will produce many, many heirs. It is the Gods' word for us to spread our bloodline very far. But we must be more careful next time so the child is not untimely."

"Yes, but for now, we can be as rough as we'd like. Now, shall we go again or is my poor king too tired for another round." She teased.

"Again, my dear queen." He grinned.

The next morning, River said goodbye to Henry and the King, promising to return soon. With the crown on her head, she headed off with the Teselecta, into the woods where she had positioned the TARDIS.

She set the coordinates for a few weeks later when she was meant to be returning. She tossed a few of her dresses onto the path and then set a fire about a mile down the road as the thieves of the woods usually did. When the townspeople saw the smoke, they would surely come running.

The fire grew very quickly, though that was probably due to the use of gasoline. It was mere minutes before the sound of horsemen approached.

River cloaked the TARDIS, hiding in the doorway of the ship.

None of the horsemen were people River would recognize, likely just the first guards the King could find. They examined the fire and the clothes. "Go after the traitors. Find them and kill them. We shall report back to the King: His wife and son have been killed."

River next went to the court to make sure the King would be properly informed, though this time she just watched from the scanner.

He was throwing a proper fit, overturning chairs and doing a fair about of intimidating yelling. "You will search the entire first inch by inch! I will have revenge!" The guard rushed off to do as he'd said, other servant running around and trying to fix the room he was wreaking. "Take me to the carriage, I need to see it!"

River watched for a few moments, not at all surprised by his reaction.

"Sir, there is no more carriage. It was burnt to ash." Another guard reported.

"You will take me to it!" He roared. The guard nodded, leading the King out to the forest so Henry was the only one left in the throne room.

The boy had skipped anger, not really having much in him to begin with. He had been crying silently but left alone he allowed himself to become louder, sinking in his chair.

River's heart broke for the boy, and she wanted to run out and comfort him. She had hoped that they hadn't been close enough for him to be terribly upset, but it seemed that she was wrong.

He sat there and sobbed.

Terra kicked in confusion as to why River was sad.

River grabbed a cloak from the closet, pulling it on. She couldn't let the boy just sit there and suffer.

Why sad? Terra insisted.

Because I made someone else sad, but I didn't mean to.

Who? Big brother?

No, someone else. She stood at the door of the TARDIS, not knowing if she should risk going out.

Who? Terra asked again.

River ignored the question, slipping out of the TARDIS, the cloak masking her face. Henry didn't see her, face buried in his hands. She gently wrapped her arms around him when she was close enough, rubbing his back.

He nearly jumped, clumsily scrambling back. "Who are you? H-How did you get in here?"

"Shhh, it's alright. I just need you to be quiet, okay?" River pulled the hood back so he could see her face, "Please, don't shout."

"H-how are you alive?" It came out more as a whimper.

"I can't explain it, and I can't come back either." She murmured, brushing her fingers along his cheeks to rid them of tears, "I just want you to know, everything will be alright."

"You're a ghost aren't you?" He sucked in a shaky breath, hand over hers.

She swallowed, then nodded, "...Yes, I am." She murmured.

"Is William dead too?" He sniffed.

She nodded, keeping her hand on his cheek, "Yes, I'm afraid so."

"Why?" He managed.

"We were attacked." She murmured, "But that's not why I'm here. I wanted to come back and tell you that you are so brave and so good. Has your father been making an effort to listen?"

"He sat with me a few times and we talked about plans for the kingdom." He wiped his nose on his sleeve. "He liked my ideas."

"See?" She smiled, "Didn't I tell you he would? Now, I don't know if my...death is going to make it easier or harder to talk with him, but I want you to keep trying. Now that he's seen how brilliant you are, it'll only get easier." She encouraged.

"No, it won't. He's furious, lost over your death. He will be gone in spirit."

"Then bring him back." River whispered, "You can do it, I know you can. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day, everything will be better. It'll be alright, I promise."

"Will you go to him?" He asked.

"Do you want me to?" It hadn't been in her original plan, but if it would help the boy then she would do it.

"I don' think it will do him much good..." He hesitated, remembering the temper of his father.

She nodded slowly, "I must go now. Be brave, don't let your father knock you down."

He squeezed her hand harder, not wanting her to go. "Please, take care of my brother on the other side."

"You know I will." She gave him a small smile, finally letting go of his hand, "You're going to make a wonderful king one day."

"P-please don't leave us." He begged.

"I can't stay." She shook her head, "But you don't need me anymore. You'll be just fine, I know it."

"I do need you. I can't be alone again."

River sighed, "You're not alone. You'll have your Father this time. And I'll come back to see you."

His eyes widened. "When?"

"I don't know." She shook her head, "But I promise that I will."

He nodded sadly. "Will you bring my brother, too?"

She nodded, "Of course."

"Thank you, mother." He whispered.

She swallowed, "I'll see you soon." She pulled the hood back over her head, and went back to the TARDIS, taking off and finally heading home.

It was night when she landed, the flat dark and quiet aside from Toby's snores coming from the couch. River stepped out of the TARDIS, taking in the room. She almost immediately wanted to leave again but didn't.

Toby twitched in his sleep. In front of him, on the coffee table, there were cards strewn out. The handwriting wasn't the neat scrawl of the Doctor like it usually was, but messy marks made by the girls.

River sighed, walking over to the cards and picking them up. There were doodles of the family on them, some including the pets, but each one said 'Happy Mother's Day', though not always spelled right. River was unsure if she had missed Mother's Day or if the next day was Mother's Day.

She sat down on the couch, head in her hands. Toby woke at the movement, sleepily shifting so his head was on her leg. River pat his head, sighing. He made a questioning noise up at her, tail wagging. River ignored him, getting up and going to sleep in the TARDIS.

He whimpered, popping up and trotting after her. He curled up in bed with her, very insistent. She quickly fell asleep, exhausted.