A/N:Sorry about the wait. I got way ahead of myself, and then when I hit an empty chapter I was just like 'I'll do it later'. Pfft. Sure. Anyway. Thanks to those lovely reviewers and alerters!
-1789-
-Versailles-
The gardens were quite radiant this morning. The sun made the dew glitter on the grass lawn, it almost seemed like it would be bright enough to warm the autumn day. Despite the restlessness of the peasants in the capital, Calypso was feeling generally happy. The king had called for another meeting of the Estates General, though she had doubts that it would be any better than the last. While some work had begun, it had dissolved into an excuse for feasting. But the attack on the Bastille had certainly sobered up many of the nobles who hadn't been taking the changing political climate too seriously. She did her best to stay out of it; it had caused some strife within the servants, those who believed in the cause, and those who were still loyal to the king. She was always good at keeping her head down; she found it was the easiest way to stay out of trouble.
Just then, she was waiting for the arrival of the Duke de Alphons. He was to arrive from Paris sometime in the morning. She had been informed that he was a man of great…self-importance. She started to understand why, since he had not been explicitly invited by the King. In addition to that, he was arriving a full week early, which made sense for those who lived in the country. But as he only lived so far away as the capital, it seemed a little excessive. Calypso only really had such a sour outlook on the man because she wasn't supposed to be here greeting him. She could be doing a dozen other things instead of catering to the whims of a stuffy noble. But the steward, who should've been there to meet him, was away with the King. Hunting.
She heard the crackle of the gravel behind her and she turned to see the white and gilded carriage approaching. Its wheels were muddied from the city roads, and a footman jogged along behind it as it arrived. She ran her hands down her modest skirts, trying to present herself as well as she could. She saw the man within the bouncing vehicle, swathed in layers of heavy velvet, even as he was forced to fan himself. She reminded herself to smile as the carriage came to a halt in front of her, and she gestured for the men waiting to come take the bags that were strapped to the back. The footman waited for them to finish before he opened the door wide, and placed a small footstep on the ground to ease the Duke's exit.
"Duke de Alphons," She bowed deeply, as she had been instructed to do. "It is my pleasure to welcome you to Versailles." The rather portly and balding man huffed as he dislodged himself from the wagon, scowling down at her.
"Has the monarchy fallen so far already that they cannot spare a man to greet me proper?" His beady eyes regarded her with distain and she felt her practiced smile start to fade from her face.
"I apologize," She said smoothly. "The steward is indisposed at the moment. But your rooms are ready for your arrival." She wondered how much the steward would appreciate her telling the Duke that he had made a specific effort to be 'indisposed' for his arrival. She thought that would probably be pushing her luck a little too far. "If you'll just follow me, I can take you to them. I'm sure your journey has been quite taxing." Her voice had just a hint of an edge to it, and the annoyed flick of the Duke's eyes suggested that he had noticed it. She rounded the carriage so she wouldn't have to keep the wavering smile on her face, let him scowl at her back if he'd like.
"Hello." Said a floppy haired man wearing a grin and a bow tie, he was waiting behind the carriage. She blinked at his sudden appearance and took a step back, so startled out of her fuming mood. Unfortunately, she had forgotten about the Duke, who she had bumped into, and he was rather unhappy about it.
"How dare you, impertinent girl!" He shouted. She didn't have the time to greet the Doctor then; she was too busy trying to repair that fake smile so she could beg forgiveness for being so clumsy. She opened her mouth to apologize to the blustering man before she realized that he had his cane poised to strike at her. She only thought to react once it was already falling through the air, but then it was too late. The Doctor bumped against her shoulder as the he reached out a hand, snatching the cane and holding it firmly in the air.
"No no." The Doctor tsked the man as if he were scolding a child. "We don't use that to hit."
"I'm so terribly sorry my lord," Calypso thought the Duke's head might explode, he was so incredibly red. "It was my mistake-"
"Shut your mouth you whore!" He spat at her, still struggling to bring his cane down from the Doctor's grip. "I'll have you both beheaded-"
"That is quite enough." The Doctor said in a dark tone that she did not recognize. There wasn't a trace of amusement in his eyes as he yanked the staff from the man's hands and threw it aside, closing the distance between them with a single step. "I would choose your next words very very carefully." The Doctor was a tower next to the short man, but that wasn't what was so intimidating. In fact, she didn't know what it was; she would never have described the Doctor as a scary man before. But menace seemed to radiate off him in waves, and she was afraid of what he might do if the Duke did not choose so carefully. They stood that way, in a standoff, for a long moment, the Doctor's eyes boring holes into the man's skull. But finally, the Duke stepped back, dropping his gaze. He flicked it angrily at Calypso, clearly not as intimidated by her as he was the Doctor, and he wanted to make that clear.
"I shall find my own way to the rooms." He hissed at her, storming away, his elbow knocking into the Doctor who just watched him go.
"As you please, my lord." She curtsied as he went, but he didn't spare her another look.
"Well, he was rather rude." The Doctor made a face. The anger was suddenly gone, or perhaps simmering below the surface. It was as if it had never been. He turned his attention to her and he smiled. "Calypso, how have you been?" He gathered her in his arms for a hug, and she was surprised to find she was glad to hug him back. It was a strange feeling to be comforted by the fact that he was so familiar with her, and even pleased to see her. A soothing balm spread over that memory of their last meeting. She wasn't sorry to put that behind her.
And yet, she didn't really know this particular man very well at all. Though it seemed he knew her well enough for the both of them. And she couldn't deny that she was happy to see him. In fact, 'ecstatic' might have even been a better choice of words.
"I've been well." She said with her own smile as he pulled back from her, his hands lingering on her shoulders. Something in his gaze made her remember how their last meeting had gone, and she felt herself start to blush.
"How many?" He asked, with a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth.
"Seven." She said quickly, she reached for her necklace as a habit, but she knew she didn't really need to count the beads. "And you?"
He smiled and let out a pent up sigh. "Many more than seven." He squeezed her shoulders and kissed the top of her head before letting his arms drop. But he kept his grip on her hand. "Come along, I've got something to show you." He jerked his head toward the gardens and started to pull her forward.
"Hold on just a minute, I can't just drop everything and go with you," She said with a laugh, dragging her feet to a stop. "I might well lose my job over this."
"Oh, perfect," He said with a smile. "So then you haven't got any plans?"
"I might!" She was still resisting his pull on her, but just barely. After all, what was another day of servitude when she could be with him? The man who traveled among the stars. "If I work hard. I doubt anyone will be swayed by the Duke's harsh words. He is not as popular as he might imagine himself to be."
"Well, I can certainly see why." The Doctor said mildly. "It doesn't matter, you're job is going to be obsolete shortly. Come on, I've made a picnic." He seemed quite pleased with the idea.
"Obsolete? What do you mean?" She watched him with suspicion.
"What?" He looked suddenly guilty. "Nothing. I don't know. Did I say obsolete? I just meant you should ditch it. It's a rubbish job anyway. Bet there's loads better things you could be doing than dealing with fussy old men. Like a circus!" He brightened up. "Bet you'd love a good circus." He grinned at her in that manic way and she felt her resolve melting. "What do you say? Picnic, sunny day, dashing stranger. I packed the basket myself."
She sighed. She could continue to argue, but she knew it was futile. He would eventually wear her down. Besides, it wasn't as if she didn't want to go. It was just that she knew she probably shouldn't. There was an important distinction there, to her at least.
"You know, I'm starting to wonder if you're worth all this trouble." She let his momentum pull her forward finally and his grin grew even broader as he led her down the steps into the gardens.
"Of course I am."
"Says you." She snorted at him.
"Actually, says you." He winked at her over his shoulder and whatever resistance she had left fluttered away along with the pleasant butterflies in her stomach.
"I've never been here before." Calypso surveyed the hedges around them with interest. She had always thought the gardens were familiar to her, a home away from home. She spent as much of her time out here as she could, weather permitting, and sometimes, even when the weather didn't. She felt they were grander than the palace itself, though she knew there would be some who disagreed with her.
But the Doctor was taking her much deeper into the gardens than she had ever been, not knowing that the hedges continued this far from the Grand Canal. But they did, and they soared far above both of their heads, giving everything, even their steps on the path, a hushed whisper. She felt almost trapped within the glossy green foliage that surrounded her. Her eyes lingered on the man in the tweed jacket who still held her hand, leading her along. Almost trapped.
"Had an old friend put it back here, Andre. Good fellow. Had a real eye for design. He made sure to put it off the beaten track. Ah-" He stopped in front of yet another set of hedges, seemingly no different from the others. "Here we are." He ducked his head into the leaves and stepped back, his hair slightly ruffled from the disturbance. "Yes, this is the one. Ladies first." He said with a smile as he used his free hand to push back one of the thicker branches, almost like a door. She shot him a suspicious look, but he gave her an encouraging nod and so she ducked into the hedge. It took her only a moment to realize that this particular hedge was greatly trimmed back, beneath the leaves, it was nearly hollow and it didn't take her long to cross to the other side. She pushed through hesitantly, the twigs scratching at her arms and face. But she finally crossed the barrier, and she found a small oasis waiting for her on the other side.
What most immediately caught her attention was the tree standing at the center, it was nearly as high as the hedges, but it seemed to spread wider than it grew tall. Several trunks bloomed up from the ground, creating a dome of dusky orange and red. The tiny leaves rippled in the breeze like a fire, and as they fell to the ground, she could see that they were like tiny stars. She had never seen anything like it before.
There was also a small stream that wove its way past the tree, disappearing below the hedges near where they stood. All along its banks were various wild flowers, still blossoming, despite the lateness of the year. The rest of the grove was lush grass, and below the shade of the tree, a thick red blanket waited for them, with a filled basket in the center.
"So," The Doctor said as he emerged from the hedge, standing close enough that their shoulders brushed against each other. "What do you think?" He looked down at her, almost apprehensively.
"Oh, it's lovely." She said a little breathlessly. He grinned, clearly pleased with himself and she knelt to pick up one of the leaves that had fluttered down nearby. Twirling it between her thumb and forefinger.
"I thought you might like it." He said, sounding quite smug.
"But…" She looked up from the leaf. "The grass is cut, who-" She frowned at him; surely it wouldn't look like this if it had gone wild.
"I know a guy." He shrugged in his mysterious way.
"Of course you do." She shook her head with a smile. He plucked the leaf from her fingers and tucked it over her ear, tweaking her nose as he withdrew his hand.
"Come on. The picnic waits. I even brought you wine. Very French," He made a sour face as they crossed to the blanket. "But utter rubbish."
"What kind of tree is this?" She brushed her hand against the trunk as she sat down, staring up at its branches in wonder.
"That, is an Acer Palmatum." He flopped down beside her and pressed his hand against the rough bark, as though greeting an old friend. "A Japanese maple. The very last." His voice sounded sad as he spoke.
"The last?" She asked, withdrawing her hand.
"Well," He shrugged. "Not right now. It's the very last, later. Much much later. Billions of years from now, and billions of miles away from Earth as well." His eyes grew distant as he smiled, remembering some fond memory. "A long time from now, it is the last Japanese maple seed. And they ask me to save it."
"Who did?" Her voice was almost a whisper; her admiration of the beauty of the tree was now joined by her awe of it. She always felt like such a child when he spoke like this. Of alien planets, and times so far in the future that the world around her would turn to dust. Or when he spoke of so distant in the past that everything unraveled out of existence. It was all quite a bit to take in, and yet, she felt herself warming to that thrill.
"The trees." He said with a sniff. "But that's boring." He leaned over to the basket and plucked out the dark bottle within. After some struggling with the cork, he managed to open it and pour a glass of the burgundy wine for her. He handed it over, and she didn't protest when he sat himself down closer to her than he had been before.
"What have you been doing? When did I see you last?" He asked, genuinely interested.
"It was the first time we met," She took a sip from the glass, it was sweet and sharp on her tongue, he must be a mad man not to enjoy this. "Well, the first time you met me." She added.
"Ah," His focus faded and his mouth hung open as he tried to think back. "Blimey! But that was here. Have you been here this whole time?" He looked at the watch on his wrist. "That'd be nearly thirty years. Have you been here thirty years?" He asked incredulously.
"No," She laughed at him, wiping her chin where she had spilled some of her drink. "I left soon after you did. I've only been here again a few months."
"Oh, that's good." He nodded. "Very good. That'd be an awful long wait-oh." He paused, looking at her sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I wasn't very pleasant that first time, was I?" She plucked some of the bread from the basket to avoid looking at him directly. She didn't want to admit just how much she had been hurt by that first meeting. That meeting when he had looked straight through her like she wasn't even there.
"Oh, I'm sure I wasn't very gracious the first time I met you." She shrugged.
"Nonsense." He scoffed at her. "You were perfect. Brilliant. And you've been lovely ever since." She felt her smile returning to her face. And then he brought his hand up to her cheek, brushing his thumb against her skin. She found herself trapped in his gaze and she shivered. "You are lovely." He added with a smile. She could feel his hand pulling her face ever so slightly forward. It wasn't strong enough that she couldn't resist. But then, she wasn't really interested in resisting. Her heart hammered in her chest as she grew close enough to him that she could feel his breath on her cheek. He was just as intoxicating as the wine, this man who knew her so intimately. It felt like somehow, she knew him as well. Though, not now. Somewhere, out in the universe, there was another version of herself, a version who knew this man exactly as well as he knew her. And right then, she thought she could almost be her. She swallowed and moistened her bottom lip.
"Calypso," The Doctor spoke hoarsely. "I wonder if I might-" He searched her eyes, seeking permission.
"Absolutely." She closed the distance between them, the bread fell from her fingers, forgotten.
But suddenly their tiny grove was interrupted by the wretched screams and the sudden silence of a man dying.
