In case it isn't obvious, some of the relationship dynamics portrayed here aren't meant to be healthy.
Like, I'll just say right now as a mild warning that the entire point of this Koschei/Aliya storyline is to explore an abusive relationship and have the abused party go on a journey of being able to get through it, move on, and eventually find happiness, because I don't think there are enough well written storylines about that.
"We're going to get caught!" Aliya laughed, and wondered to herself why she was so unconcerned about it.
"Stop worrying, will you? It'll be fine." Koschei shushed her as he accessed the panels that would get out of the Citadel.
"Don't worry Ali, we've done this before," Theta assured the girl. He put his arm around her waist and held her to him when he saw her wrapping her arms around herself in the hopes that her expansive sleeves would keep her warm.
Koschei continued to work on the panel but took a glance behind him at his friends.
"Hands off," he warned Theta jokingly, and his friend chuckled.
"Just get through there, and you can have her," he replied, earning him an elbow in the ribs from the girl being discussed. "Ow!"
"I'm not a piece of property, you know," she said. Koschei moved away from the panel, now finished, and pulled her from Theta's arms to whirl her around the small space in a strange dance.
"On the contrary, Luna, you are a most exquisite piece of property any man would enjoy possessing," he told her as he moved her to the now open door, standing behind her while she looked outside. "Now look at that view, the Low Town."
"Impressive," Aliya said with a rare hint of sarcasm, as she looked at the path to the rather shabby looking town where the non-Time Lord Gallifreyans lived.
"Oh come on, you two, or they'll think we're not coming and get started without us." Theta said, for some reason looking a little irritated.
The three of them left the Capitol and started down the tidy path that went through the red grass that held only a little colour because of the darkness of the night. The boys noticed the awed expression on their friend's face and began inquiring about it.
"What? Never had gravel below your fancy boots, Miss Arpexia?" Koschei teased.
"I've never been outside the Citadel before besides Inititation," Aliya said, "As you both know perfectly well. I can't quite take it in." She looked back at the massive dome behind them before continuing down the path, walking between the two of them and holding both of their hands.
By the time the trio had reached the centre of Low Town, the party had gotten into full swing already. Aliya had been busy staring at all of the primitive houses made of wood and stone, and all the oil lamps that lit the streets. But the square in the middle of the town was bustling with activities. Shabogans were dancing around a large bonfire in the middle of the square, to upbeat and cheerful music being played by a group of musicians in a corner. Some of their instruments looked like less advanced versions of ones she knew from the Citadel, others were completely foreign.
But also the dancing. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before. Not formal or slow, with precise posture and movements. This was erratic and loud and fast...but also looked infinitely more fun.
When one of the Shabogans noticed the arrivals he roared with excitement and crossed over to them.
"Good to see you two! Who's your friend?"
"This is Aliya," Theta introduced. "Aliya, this is our good friend Torgan."
"Good to see that they've converted another one to their ways," Torgan said with a wolfish grin. "Welcome to Low Town."
"Thank you," she replied with a smile.
"But come now, no time for chit chat. We're missing the fun." Torgan led them over to the outside of a tavern on the edge of the square, and bent down to where he had a large container of small flasks, which he handed to each of the newcomers. Theta and Koschei both took theirs enthusiastically and had a drink immediately, while Aliya eyed hers with wary indecision.
Koschei smirked and took another swig of his drink before stepping forward and kissing her without warning, letting her taste the drink on his lips. Aliya blushed at such a public display of affection, but Torgan gave a booming laugh full of approval.
"Now you know it tastes good. So drink!" Koschei told Aliya. She took a large gulp and smiled when she was done.
"There's a girl," Torgan said. "New to drinking, is she?"
"Little Ali's first drink, definitely cause for celebration." Koschei grinned idiotically at her and she hit him forcefully.
"You going to wish you never encouraged me to hit the other," she told both of them, "Because I'm rather beginning to enjoy it. And don't you call me little again." She directed the last comment to Koschei.
"Or what?" He taunted, pulling her to him and swaying with her in a dance to the rowdy music in the background.
"Or you will find certain privileges revoked." She pushed him away and approached Theta, who took the opportunity to whisk her away into a dance of their own. Both grinned mischievously at their friend. Torgan laughed again, mostly due to guessing the meaning of the statement the girl had just made and Koschei's look of annoyance.
Sometime later when Aliya had gotten more used to the situation (the two flasks of drink she had by then consumed having a lot to do with it), the three Academy students were extremely content.
"Luna, take that ridiculous headpiece out. It looks so much better without it," Koschei told her. His words were met with words of encouragement from Theta.
"Let it out!" They said in unison.
Aliya grinned before standing up and pulling the headpiece out of her hair in a fluid motion, throwing it away to clatter on the ground. Her ringlets fell free and she shook them wildly, getting into the spirit of the party. The boys laughed.
"It's odd, because it's all so primitive, but it's so much fun!" She told Koschei as she danced with him a little while later.
"That's the point!"
Later, when the party had finally quietened a little, Koschei sat on one of the benches around the outside of the square while Aliya leaned into his side.
Only a few of the musicians were still playing, and their slow and mellow tune floated through the air that was no longer filled with loud and rowdy voices.
Theta was still dancing, having found a cute Shabogan boy who chuckled at him and seemed very pleased to be dancing with a Time Lord to be. They twirled around and laughed loudly.
"Can it, Theta," Koschei muttered irritably. "And tell those idiotic low lives to stop their stupid music."
Aliya frowned at his words as the music immediately stopped.
"What did you just say?" A nearby Shabogan man said.
"You know, just that your music is getting on my nerves and that you're all a bunch of idiot primitives who donn't know how to escape from a planet where the real society didn't want them," Koschei said with a huge amount of laziness.
"Why you little-" The Shobogan started angrily, striding towards him.
"Whoa, there, Trev. Calm down, he didn't mean it." Theta said quickly, stepping in front of the man. Aliya leaned away from Koschei's chest and looked at Trev in worry.
"Don't tell me what I do and don't mean, Theta." Koschei retorted as he got to his feet slowly, obviously quite intoxicated. "They're all idiots, they're beneath us. I know you've failed once, Theta, and I'm doing it again to learn different subjects, but we're not that thick. They're not even smart enough to try and get off this pompous orange rock!"
"Koschei…" Aliya said pleadingly. "Stop it."
"Don't tell me you aren't thinking it too, Luna. You're little Miss Arpexia, you're practically wiping your boots on them. When I told you where we were going tonight, your face fell. You pretend to be all good and kind and different, when really you're just as stuck up as the rest of them," Koschei said in a patronising tone.
Aliya was incredibly upset. "I wasn't thinking anything like that!" She looked to Trev and the other Shabogans – who regarding her with confusion and growing anger - desperately. "I didn't understand, but I was willing to try it, and as a result this has been one of the most entertaining nights of my life."
They looked as though they believed her, and when she looked to Theta he nodded reassuringly. However, they did turn back to Koschei looking extremely angry, and before he knew it he had six angry Shabogans advancing on him.
"Come to take a shot at me have you?" He mocked them. "Can't handle the truth?" One took a swing at him and he ducked only to receive a hit from another one.
It soon turned into a huge fight, and Theta was forced to join it to try and get his friend back, while Aliya attempted to do the same but failed. Meanwhile, the Shabogan girl had run off.
Theta managed to get Koschei out, and helped the other student get going before running off and calling for Aliya to follow.
"I'm sorry. He's just…drunk. He's been feeling low and he didn't mean it," she told the Shabogans apologetically before running after her friends and being relieved when they didn't follow.
She felt like she was just making excuses for the young man that she loved. There was a horrible feeling in her stomach that was telling her Koschei had meant every word he had said, and would not hesitate to do something similar again.
Aliya eventually caught up to Theta and Koschei.
"…do something like that again, and I swear, I'll find some way to seriously make you regret it." The former was telling the latter.
"Stop lecturing me, Theta. I didn't ask for your help. I would have been fine." Koschei snapped.
"Fine? You would have been a pummelled mess covered in blood!" Aliya said in confusion and horror.
"She's right. We saved you from Rassilon knows what, and this is the thanks we get." Theta agreed as he shook his head with annoyance.
They argued all the way back up to the Capitol.
When the door slid open and they stepped inside, Aliya felt a feeling of comfort wash over her as she entered the place that was home and much more normal compared to the rough and primitive society she had just left.
"Don't try and make me feel like a guilty little boy, Theta," Koschei sneered. "I'm older than you."
"Well then why don't you act like it for once?" Theta challenged.
Koschei scowled and grabbed Aliya's hand. "Let's go, Luna." Aliya frowned, but moved in to give Theta a tight hug.
"Don't worry," She whispered in his ear as his arms wrapped around her, "I'll sort him out."
"Ahem," Koschei coughed irritably, causing them to separate. "Do you mind?"
"What?" Aliya and Theta asked in exasperation.
"Just remember who is whose," the blond boy replied with forced calmness. The question seemed more directed at Theta. "Come on, Luna." Koschei grabbed her hand and pulled her off down the corridor in the direction of the dorms. Aliya looked over her shoulder and gave Theta an apologetic look before disappearing around a corner.
Finally they got to her door.
"Goodnight," Aliya sighed. She leant up and went to kiss him on the cheek, but he moved his head at the last minute so that their lips made contact instead. When she tried to pull away he only made the kiss deeper, his arms worming around her as he pushed her against the door to her room.
"Stop it," she warned, her words barely discernable against his mouth.
"Why?" He smirked as he pulled away momentarily, only to kiss her neck instead.
"Because you're drunk, we're out in the open, I'm not in the mood, and you are being a really horrid person at the moment. So stop it," Aliya replied, doing her best to push him away.
"Would you rather Theta be kissing you?" He asked scornfully, jealousy obvious.
"No! Don't be idiotic."
"You two certainly seem very cosy sometimes. Even that hug before…"
"It was a hug. He's my friend, Koschei, just as he is yours," Aliya said, bemused. "Koschei, I've never been attracted to anyone who isn't you, so get over this stupid jealousy act and go back to your own room. I want to be alone tonight, and I think it will do both of us some good!"
"You don't mean that." Koschei told her, never doubting himself for a second.
"The hell I don't-"
He kissed her again, taking advantage of her open mouth. She tried to fight him, but could already feel her resolve crumbling. What he could do, how he could persuade her like this even when she was mad at him, it wasn't normal. He wasn't normal. And his uniqueness wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Or at least she tried to tell herself that.
His fingers fiddled with the door while still behind her back, and it swung open. They walked inside without breaking apart, letting the door shut behind them as their lips moved against each other's earnestly.
"No more hugging Theta like that," Koschei hissed in Aliya's ear when they finally stopped for breath.
"Okay," she whispered reluctantly, at that moment not caring anything else.
"You're mine, and don't forget it," he said.
She nodded as he began kissing her again, his hands beginning to travel. Despite her anger and reluctance, he had somehow used his hypnotic persuasion to get his way. And she submitted to him, just as she always did, and never considered that it might be wrong.
Theta trudged into the Deca room, where Aliya and Koschei were lounging on a reclining chair. It was the only place in the Academy other than their private bedrooms where they could be so openly affectionate towards each other. Aliya was sitting between his legs and leaning back against on his chest contently while he had his arms wrapped around her but his hands holding a book he was reading at the same time.
Aliya gave Theta a small smile as he entered, which soon turned into a frown when she noticed the glum look on his face.
"What's wrong?" she asked with concern.
"I failed my capsule flying test," he said with a sigh, and sat down in a defeated manner on the nearest chair. Koschei looked up from his book, and exchanged a look with the girl in his arms before the two burst into laughter, shaking in each other's arms. "Oi!" Theta said indignantly. "What's so funny about that? I might not even be able to graduate now, and this is my second try!"
"It's just…" Aliya said, giggling again before trying to talk, "You always talked about how brilliant you were, teaching me how to fly it…" She trailed off as her expression turned to one of horror. She jumped up off the sofa and pulled Koschei with her. "Koschei, you know how to fly the capsules, don't you?"
He rolled his eyes. "Of course."
"Teach me! He taught me, and failed! If you don't show me the right way to do it, I will too!" She was pleading and panicking, which Koschei found extremely amusing. He pulled her in and kissed her to stop her rambling.
"I'll teach you, Luna. After all, if you want something done right you have to do it yourself," he assured her, and they left the room abruptly.
Theta leaned back in his chair with a deep sigh as he watched them leave. This was not how he had expected them to react. He closed his eyes and dreamt of the sympathy he would never receive.
"No, that one."
"This one?"
Koschei grabbed her arm in exasperation and placed her hand on the right lever.
"This one. Got it?" He was obviously irritated by her lack of knowledge. Aliya nodded, noting his impatience. "Now try it properly." He stepped back and watched how she moved around the console.
She flicked the levers and pressed the buttons with decisions, occasionally ghosting over something she had learnt from Theta before choosing the right option. Koschei smirked and came up behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders as he moved closer to her.
"Stop it, I'm trying to concentrate," she muttered as he moved her hair aside to press his lips to her jugular.
"I'm sure you are, but I'm bored," he replied as his hand swept down her torso to her hip.
She tried to ignore him, which was very difficult when he started whispering in her ear. The things he said made her shudder, and she wondered how anyone could have the nerve to use such sensuous but vulgar terms. Gallifreyan was such a descriptive language.
Eventually she was confident in her grasp of the flying (not that her teacher had been any help, when she had finally convinced him to give up on his perverted attempt at ending his boredom, he had merely sulked in the corner and told her whenever she did anything wrong), and she and Koschei left the capsule without any incidents for once in their lives.
Theta was in the process of choosing a shirt when there was a knock on his bedroom door.
He hurried over and opened it to reveal Aliya waiting outside.
Aliya saw he wasn't wearing a shirt and blushed profusely, even if that was rather silly. She had a lover, after all, and regardless of the fact Theta was quite pleasant to look at with a bare chest, it was nothing more than aesthetic appreciation, nothing like the attraction she felt with Koschei.
"Oh, sorry," Theta apologised, looking down and realising what was going through her head. "Come in, and I'll, um…" He led her inside and quickly snatched a random shirt out of his drawers and pulled it on as she sat down on the edge of his bed with her eyes politely averted. "So…" He began awkwardly. "What brings you here? I don't think you've ever been in my room before."
Aliya shrugged. "Koschei is studying like a maniac for an exam. I was just wondering what you were planning on doing today."
"I'm sure we can work something out!" Theta said with a grin. She gave back one of her own.
"That's the answer I was hoping for," she told him with relief.
They set off towards a place that Theta insisted was extraordinary. As it turned out, it was a strange sort of cross between a museum and a library, with information of lots of other planets across time and space.
"This is amazing!" Aliya exclaimed as she looked around the wooden panelled room with wonder. "All these galaxies, you can stroll through a door to get more information?"
The entrance was not huge, but had many doors that bore the names of all the different galaxies: Mutter's Spiral, Andromeda galaxy and the Isop galaxy, to name a mere few.
"Exactly! And the dimensions of this building are incredible in themselves, this place is huge on the inside," Theta said excitedly, and led her through the Mutter's Spiral door. They were now again in a room of doors, but before Aliya could take a proper look around he was heading towards a door that said 'Sol'.
The next room was the same, with categories of 'Sun/Sol', 'Mercury', and 'Mars'.
"This is amazing. So many places we've barely heard of…"
"Yes," Theta agreed impatiently. "But I want to show you this one." He pulled her through the final door. "Welcome to the information base of the planet Terra, otherwise known as Earth."
He ran to the circular projector in the middle of the spacious room and hit a few buttons, bringing up a hologram of the planet.
Aliya stared at the picture in awe. "It's beautiful. All those greens and blues and whites. You'd never get anything like that here."
"Brilliant, don't you think?" Theta asked with a grin, eyeing the hologram with fondness. "Native species: Humans. A bit thick, and primitive, but they are quite similar to us in appearance."
Aliya rolled her eyes.
"Humans have taken over half of the galaxies in the universe by very early on in history. I do know what they are, though I never thought to ask where they originated," she told him. "How much information is here? What is it like?"
He led her over to one of the countless doors – one that read 'Literature' - that lined the walls of the room and pulled it open.
It was a large library, full of books that looked so alien to her.
"It's organised chronologically, and by the name of the author within that. It only has the major bestsellers, though. Though, this woman is marvellous!" Theta said, pulling a book from a nearby shelf. Aliya took it gingerly and examined the glossy cover that held a certain beauty. It was written in English (irritating, limiting, and ugly language that it was), but she had no trouble reading it.
"Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express," she read before giving Theta a sceptical look. "What a charming title. Can't say I know what the 'Orient Express' is."
"It's a train," He informed her before grinning and taking back the book. "But really, for something based around such a vile act, they are brilliant. It's what they call a 'murder mystery'. You follow a character or a group of characters, who are trying to solve the murder, but you don't find out who did it until the very end. And for a human, the plots are surprisingly hard to predict."
Aliya could not help but feel intrigued by the idea. "It sounds quite interesting."
"Of course it does. That's because it is, my dear girl." Theta said. "Read it, and you might find you enjoy it."
"Can I get it out? Like a library?"
"My dear Ali, for many purposes, this is a library. Just swipe your ID and it will be logged into the system." She nodded and did as he instructed.
They walked out of the 'Literature' room and spent a few hours examining aspects of the planet Theta seemed so fond of.
"Because they didn't even believe in life on other worlds until the 21st century, and even then there were still so many in denial. It would be a fascinating period to visit," Theta said enthusiastically as they walked back towards the dorms.
"Now you're just being silly," Aliya told him, "You can't just visit other planets."
Theta shook his head, a new gleam of determination in his eyes as he looked at her. "Ali, I'm telling you right now, that if it is the last thing I do, I'm going to leave this place, get off this planet."
"Why? How would it be worth it? You'd get in so much trouble!" She asked in disbelief.
"I don't know if you're old enough to understand yet. Almost, but not quite," he said, with no joking tone whatsoever as he looked her over. "I'll explain it to you one day."
"I better go and check on Koschei." Her change of subject was not the most subtle, but being called overly young (or as good as) had irritated her. Koschei may treat her like many things that annoyed her, but at least he did treat her like a grown up. "Goodbye, Theta."
Regardless of the slight tension now between them they still exchanged a tender hug in farewell before she left in the direction of Koschei's room.
She knocked on the door and a voice called, "Come in."
She entered the room that was – like most student rooms – smaller than her own, the book from Earth still in her hands.
Koschei smiled when he saw her come in. "Hello, Luna."
Aliya decided in those few seconds that it was ridiculously unfair for someone to look as attractive as Koschei did at that very moment.
His blonde hair was mussed, and his white cotton shirt partially unbuttoned at the top while he wore no shoes. He was lounging on the bed looking over a scroll, and obviously completely unaware of his distracting appearance.
She put the book she carried on his dresser and sat down on the bed next to him. He caught her looking over his intelligent eyes, his hair so similar to hers, and didn't miss how her gaze dipped to the more exposed part of his chest. Seeing the look in her eyes as she surveyed him, it took only half a second for the same expression of desire to appear in his own eyes.
Koschei kissed her hungrily, bringing his body up so they were level. They broke apart for a moment. About to kiss her again, his green eyes flicked up to linger on the Agatha Christie book which he had barely noticed on her way in.
"What have you been up to today?" He asked casually, leaning away and ignoring the confused look she gave him.
"Theta showed me the archives that have information about almost any planet in the universe. He recommended the book," She replied lightly.
"You always seem to be doing things with Theta these days," Koschei said grumpily.
"Let's not get into one of these stupid arguments again," Aliya said, but he continued anyway. "Theta is my best friend, when you're busy of course I'm going to spend time with him, do you even hear how ridiculous you sound?"
"It's always Theta this, Theta that…" Koschei's voice was bitter. "And with him, it's all Aliya said this, Aliya did this-"
"No, it's not! Your jealousy just gets the better of you, and you think things that aren't true." The argument was one that seemed to be happening increasingly.
"Oh really?"
The sarcasm only made Aliya scowl and move away from him. "When are you going to realise that I love you, and not him?" She asked in exasperation, as she moved off the bed and collected her book.
"Prove it," he tested, the desire still burning in the back of his eyes.
"No," Aliya said coolly. "I've proved it over and over. You want more proof? Look back through the memories you've obviously forgotten and catch what everyone else has no problem seeing. When you get that far, maybe we'll talk."
She turned and left the room, leaving Koschei annoyed, jealous, and alone.
The drums continued to beat in his head, spurring him on to the conflict, instead of delivering the peace of mind he so urgently needed.
