Edited: 01/2016
-1483-
-Tower of London-
Calypso stirred first to bright yellow light streaming through her eyelids, and then to the sounds of the boys giggling as their heavy boots thundered past. What followed was the persistent remains of a rather angry headache and she groaned as her eyes finally opened. The pulsing came from the front of her skull where a tender exploration revealed a large bump against her scalp.
"Now, if you break anything I'm definitely not taking you to Ohio!" The Doctor's voice called a warning after the fading sound of the boys. She tried to rise from her prone position, but the ache in her head made her reconsider. She was laid out on a deep crimson velvet couch, something much softer and finer than anything she'd ever seen.
"Ah, up and about, are we?" The Doctor finally popped his head into the small room she found herself in. Beyond where he stood, there was a larger space of utter madness. The walls glowed a coppery orange, the source of the light that had woken her. Its structure was supported with metals and glass, all rendered far beyond the capabilities of any blacksmith she knew. And there was the console in the center, on a raised glass platform. It was different, and yet it hummed cheerfully, like an old friend. The Doctor knelt down next to the couch and grinned, holding out a bundled towel for her.
"Ice, for the bump." He nodded to where her hand was still cupped over her forehead.
She took the towel and pressed its refreshing coolness up against her head. "The boys are all right?"
"Yes, they're quite enamored with the place." The Doctor shot a look over his shoulder. "It's good they adapted so quickly. Edward had such a remarkable insight about your sleeve when it fell. I think he really might have a knack for the whole flight thing."
"I'm-I don't understand." She frowned as she tried to sit up again. The Doctor lurched forward to help her, but then hesitated at the last moment, making an effort to keep some distance between them.
"It's not especially important. All that matters is that I've got a good idea of where to bring them. Some place that's safe."
"But…they're the next in line, surely once the Duke is dealt with, they must return to the castle."
"Trust me, monarchy is not all it's cracked up to be." The Doctor waved his hand. "They're going to have loads more fun elsewhere."
"Elsewhere? If they disappear I'll be hanged!" The harsh throbbing in her forehead increased tenfold.
"I'd like to see them try it," the Doctor said darkly. "Besides, you're not going back there."
"Where else will I go?" It's true that without the boys, there would be little in the castle to engage her, but she had a difficult time imagining herself just leaving her whole life behind. Each time she reappeared elsewhere, rebuilding was a struggle. Though she was finding the lies were gradually getting easier to tell.
"Calypso," the Doctor said, a slight crease in his brow. "May I see your necklace?"
Her hand drew unconsciously to her throat, she possessed no jewelry of her own. "I'm not sure what you mean."
His hand went to his jacket pocket, producing a thin sliver thread that carried many pearls. "This doesn't look familiar to you?"
She shook her head, it was much too fine a piece for it to be familiar. "Should it?"
"You gave it to me," he smiled sadly. "A long time ago." She blinked, the idea was preposterous. "Well, a long time ago for me. Apparently, it's yet in your future." He seemed to pick up on the suspicion in her gaze. "I apologize, I know this is all a bit nonsensical."
"You speak like him," she finally admitted in a small voice. "Speaking of past and future as though you see them both."
He brightened slightly. "I've told you about time traveling then?"
"Yes," her eyes fell to the floor. It was him, it was impossible to deny now. "You told me about my home, where I had come from. And…" She had to swallow, it had been a few years since she had truly thought of that black day. She hadn't thought it would still hurt to admit that she had lost the only home she'd ever had. "And how you-" Her throat closed and she couldn't force the words to come. It was difficult to say if she had it within her to forgive him for what he'd done. Whatever hope she'd had of finding who she truly was, had vanished; and it was because of him. There were no longer any answers to be had.
"I destroyed it." He spoke so softly she wasn't certain he'd spoken at all. He stood up and gave a short nod, accepting the blame. "Gallifrey." The word sounded like an old festering wound and he steadied himself on a nearby table, no longer facing her. His shoulders were hunched with an invisible weight dragging them down.
The half of his face that was still visible was twisted with an old bitter disappointment; fury and sadness mixed together to age his young face. She recognized that inner turmoil in herself and without consciously deciding to, she crossed the room in an attempt to reassure him, though she could think of nothing to say.
He didn't look up as she approached, and there were no words that might ease this man's self-inflicted punishment. None she could freely offer. Instead, she placed a hand gently on his own where it rested on the table.
He started at the contact, and this time he met her eyes. Surprise and gratitude reflected in them and he gave half a smile. "You were very cross with me." He said, clearly remembering the meeting.
She half laughed, "Yes." She admitted, she'd been filled with anguish of a different kind when they'd met last. And his admitting the truth had only fanned the flames of her rage. The red-haired woman, and the Doctor, they had both been so kind to her, and she had repaid them with scorn. And he remembered, this man who she'd thought to be a stranger, he remembered how angry she had been. She almost believed it was him before, though she'd had no logical way to explain it. Now she had proof, this detail he remembered cemented it in reality. He was the Doctor.
"And are you still?" He didn't ask the question with hope, only resignation.
"You saved our lives."
"That doesn't mean you can't still be upset."
"I suppose that's true," she sighed. She searched within herself, but she didn't find true anger. Perhaps it was his fault that she could no longer find the answers, but whose fault was it that she had lost them in the first place? And despite the horror at what he had done, she could not see this man committing an act so atrocious without good reason. "But I don't think I am."
Gratitude lit up his face and it stunned her how much his features changed. He was once again a young man, grinning at her as though she were radiant like the sun. Clearly her opinion on this matter was deeply important to him. Relief flooded through her that she had been able to give him the answer he was so desperately seeking.
"So it is you." She said, slightly flustered.
"Yes, it's me. New face." He said, pulling at his cheek and yawning widely to prove that it was, in fact, real flesh. She noted he seemed unwilling to move the hand that she still held gently pinned between the table and her own.
"You can do that?" It astonished her to know that if true, it would not have been the craziest thing she'd learned that day.
"If I'm injured I can regenerate. Whole new me," he gestured at himself. "Though, I can't just pick one out at a shop."
"Oh," she said, quietly uneasy with the idea of picking a new face from a shop. "Is that something I can do?"
"No," he shook his head, finally straightening his shoulders and facing her fully. "We're not quite the same. Your people do live an extraordinarily long time as I understand it. There were stories about your kind using the Medusa Cascade to elongate your lives, but that could be entirely made up. Our people didn't…get along very well. I'm sorry to say." His gaze fell, and she wondered if he were remembering the war again, the destruction he had brought down on their people. "Hang on a minute." He brightened, wearing a genuine smile again.
He walked out of the small room, toward the stairs and the bright glowing center platform. He knelt down on the floor where various boxes were tucked beneath the flickering surface of the console. She followed him, watching the gentle pulse of the teal light overhead as he rifled through the boxes.
It was still lovely, and it still called to her. But she was more cautious of the thing now, whatever it truly was. She resisted the urge to reach out to it this time, instead carefully inspecting the variety of buttons that blinked and flickered with life.
"Ah, beautiful," he finally said, straightening from the boxes below. His hands were full of sparkling things, and dangling from his wrist was a long black strand. It seemed sturdier than thread though, as it held its circle shape in the air. "How many times have we met before this?" He asked, excitement bubbling in his eyes.
"It's…twice. I believe we've met twice."
"Excellent, so this'll make three." He separated three sparkling beads from his pile and threaded them onto the black line. They glittered like silver, reflecting the warm coppery light that surrounded them. "Here," he said, suddenly leaning forward as he hooked the newly made necklace around her throat. Her heart tumbled to her stomach with his face so close to hers again. He smelled like the ocean breeze and heavy clouds that carried rain.
"Now we've both got one." He said, stepping back. "You're at three, and I'm at sixteen." He had already put the pearl strand away, but he already knew the count. He rummaged in his pocket and produced a small bag, dropping the remaining beads in his hand into the bag. "Keep these safe, you'll need them."
"Sixteen?" She said, a little startled as she accepted the bag. It was weighty in her hand and she wondered how many beads he'd placed inside.
"Something to look forward to." He grinned at her and the fluttering in her stomach renewed, she focused on putting the bag in her pocket to keep from being entirely flustered. Looking down had been a mistake though, because the pain in her skull sharpened and she felt her focus slip sideways and she staggered to keep her feet beneath her.
"Steady there," the Doctor caught her shoulders, but her head still spun. "You took quite a crack."
She felt queasy, but also a familiar tingling that rippled through her body. "I think I might be-" she met the Doctor's eyes with some alarm.
"I know," he said sadly. He didn't seem concerned as yellow light burst from her skin and enveloped her completely. This was not an unusual circumstance for him, or for her it seemed. He pulled her into a tight hug, one that she didn't fight. "I'll see you soon, Callie." He breathed into her ear. She shivered at his nearness until she felt nothing at all. He stepped back from her and she had one last glimpse of his sad hazel eyes before the world around her vanished and she was gone.
