Three years later

Upon returning to her room, Aliya found a letter on her dresser. The Shabogan servants who cleaned the rooms were also charged with delivering private mail, so it would have been left there when her room was being cleaned in the morning.

She turned it over curiously in her hands. The seal was that of the House of Heartshaven. She went still and her hands slowly broke it and removed the letter. The circular words written were neat, and made with bold but very deliberate - almost careful - strokes. The first few words confirmed her suspicion and she bit her lip as she moved to sit on the edge of her bed before rereading the beginning and then continuing.

To Aliyanadevoralundar of Arpexia, daughter of the Advocate and the Botanist,

I confess that this letter is long overdue. As your betrothed of several centuries, we should have had communication long before now. I wish to remedy that as soon as possible.

I am aware that you graduate in a little over two decades. It is not as much time for two people intended for marriage perhaps should have to acquaint themselves with one another, but some receive not even that. I can imagine that for someone of your age, political marriage may sound rather daunting. I hope to perhaps make the drastic change easier for both of us.

Would you be adverse to a meeting in person between the two of us? I could come to the Academy, or if you are interested, show you the estates of Heartshaven.

Sincerely, the Defender of Heartshaven

Conflict and indecision raged through Aliya's protesting singular heart. Her fingers grazed over the circles and dots as if touching them would help her comprehend her feelings towards their contents.

After all these years, after two centuries or so of knowing but not seeing or hearing or meeting, the Defender had always been an unknown element in her life. A looming, frightening element, but an unknown element all the same.

But now...here was something tangible. Words from him were in her hand, words from him to her.

But did it matter? She loved Theta, who had come up with his big secret of an escape from the marriage that had suddenly become a lot more real. How could she meet the Defender, knowing that in two decades she was going to take part in a plan which would ensure that the marriage would never take place?

She needed advice. She needed someone she could be honest with, who would understand and not impose their own beliefs and wishes on her like her parents would. Theta, despite being her best friend, was out of the question for obvious reasons. He couldn't know about this, not before she had made her mind up about what to do. This was her decision and hers alone.

With a jolt, the answer came to her. Mariakanelyari. Theta's mother. She had spoken kindly and honestly of the Defender but would also know of her love for Theta. She was exactly who she needed to talk to.


Mariaka had responded positively to the letter Aliya had sent her containing an ambiguous request to visit their Lungbarrow estate and discuss a serious matter with her. So five days after receiving the letter from the Defender, Aliya stepped out of the transmat that had just brought her to Theta's home.

"There you are," Mariaka said as she entered the room and smiled at her, "Come through to the living area. You look well, but troubled."

"You look well, but more tired," Aliya said. It was true. While her face and body remained the same, there was age and weariness in her eyes.

"Yes," Mariaka replied with a small smile. "This is only my second body, you know. It's lasted me about three centuries or so. But given some of the things it's gone through, the fact that it is now wearing thin is unsurprising indeed."

"I wish you the best of luck with regeneration." Discussing regeneration wasn't exactly unusual, but it wasn't something one discussed with a stranger. Being at ease mentioning it around one another gave Aliya confidence that she had chosen the right person to confide in about her dilemma.

Mariaka hesitated for a moment before clasping the girl's hand in hers. "What is it that you wished to discuss with me?"

Aliya reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out the Defender's letter. "I received this five days ago." She let the other female take it and quickly read it. By the time it was handed back to her, Mariaka's brown eyes were sympathetic and understanding.

"I see," she said gently. "How do you feel about it?"

"How do you think?" Aliya couldn't keep the hopelessness out of her voice. "I love Theta more than anything, and he's promised that he's found a way for me to not have to marry the Defender. How can I meet the Defender and talk to him of our future life together when I have no such intentions?"

"Is Theta sure that his way will work? I have faith in my son, but given some of his attempted jaunts in the past-"

"I know," Aliya said, shaking her head, "I trust him, but a tiny part of me can't help but wonder. And so if there's even the slightest chance... then I should talk to the man I might still have to marry."

"He's a good man really," Mariaka told her genuinely. "I think talking to him would be a good idea. But if you trust Theta's plan, then you may be right that too much interaction could warrant more of a betrayal later. What is his plan?"

"He won't say because he wants it to be a surprise, but promises that it will work."

She got a sympathetic smile. "That sounds like him. I'm afraid that in the end, you must decide where your faith lies, and whether you want to preserve even an unlikely future."

"I think I knew that. Thank you," Aliya said gratefully. She gave the other woman a hug without thinking, and was soon receiving one back. "I really needed someone to talk to even a little bit about this. But I think... I think I need to meet him. It seems only right that I at least acknowledge what it is I am planning to walk out on. It's not a simple decision, doing so, and I can't pretend that it is."

Mariaka nodded. "I believe that to be a good choice." Then she frowned. "Though I would recommend not telling my son just yet. I don't doubt he would not understand."

"Exactly. I should be getting back to the Academy - and writing a reply to the Defender. But thank you again."

With that she took the transmat back to the Academy, and went straight to her room to compose her letter. It took her a long time to work out what to write, but she was as happy with the finished product as she ever would be.

To the Defender of Heartshaven,

To receive your letter was a great surprise. After all these years I suppose I never expected to hear from you, which in retrospect sounds a little ridiculous.

You were correct in saying that political marriage is slightly daunting to me. I would very much like to meet you. While I am very interested indeed in seeing the estates of Heartshaven, perhaps a meeting at the Academy could be better the first time around. How about the gardens? It's probably been a while since you have seen them yourself, and the botany students have made some incredible additions to it lately.

Cordially, Aliyanadevoralundar of Arpexia

Once she had dropped it off to be sent to Heartshaven, she went straight to the Cybernetics workshops and found Drax tinkering away at some delightful looking project as per usual.

"Hey there, Ali Arpexia, what are you doing here?" he asked cheerfully.

"I was going to ask for a favour," she said sheepishly, "Because I need something done and you seem like the right man for the job."

"What job would that be, then?"

Aliya tugged on a loose curl of hair and made a face. "Some day probably quite soon, I need you to keep Theta busy for a considerable amount of time."

"Alright," Drax agreed. "But why?"

"I'm... going to be meeting with the Defender of Heartshaven, and I don't want him to know about it just yet. You know how he'd react."

Drax whistled. "Big ask. Thete is one of my best friends, and lying to him-"

"It wouldn't be lying," Aliya said quickly and earnestly, "Not really. I'm not going to keep it from him, Drax, I swear. I'd never do that to him. But I need a chance to be able to see this through without him interfering. This is my betrothal and life and I need to deal with it without him interfering, which he will. I promise that I'll tell him afterward."

The tinkerer nodded and pushed his floppy ginger hair out of his eyes. "Fair enough. In that case, I'll definitely help you with that, if you help me out with this, now. You're specialising in mechanics, so you can give me a hand."

"I'm not great at cybernetics, just so you know," Aliya told him, "also, I'm not dressed for practical work."

"Worksuits are in the other room," Drax said with a smirk. "Go on."

She sighed and shook her head, but did as he said and went into the room containing the worksuits and got changed into one, leaving her dress hanging up in there. She also removed her headpiece, took some hairbands off the shelf, and used them to tightly tie back the blonde curls which threatened to get in her way.

Then she came back and out and got to work under Drax's instructions. He was such good company that soon she was laughing at almost everything that came out of his mouth, and hours had passed before even the thought of leaving entered her mind.

"Hey, Drax! What are you up to in here?" a very familiar voice asked. Both Drax and Aliya slid out from under the engine they were working on to look up at Theta, who was standing in the doorway to the workshop. "Ali? What are you doing in here?"

"Having a wonderful time," she answered with a grin, "Sometimes I'm so busy spending time with you that I forget that some of the other people I know are good fun to hang out with too. Mostly Drax, actually, but still."

"You…" His dark green eyes studied her carefully, and she became very aware of her worksuit and disheveled appearance.

"Look like a mess, I imagine," Aliya speculated. He grinned wolfishly and came to sit next to them on the floor of the workshop.

"Yes, but a fantastically cute mess." With that, he kissed her firmly. As he pulled away, she became aware of how attractive he himself looked in that moment. His eyes were even brighter than usual, his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and his tunic tight across his torso.

"You're one to talk, Sigma," she whispered, grinning at him, "It should be illegal to look as good as you do."

He grinned back at her. "I do look pretty good." She kissed him before he could brag any further.

"You two go and get a room," Drax told them with a chuckle, "I've had enough help, Ali, you're free to go."

"I should probably change back into my proper clothes."

"No, I like you like this," Theta insisted.

"I can't just leave my dress here!"

"Bring it with you. Carry it. My room isn't that far."

So they bid goodbye to Drax and ran through the corridors with her dress in their arms, giggling naughtily until they got to Theta's room and hurried inside.

"I really do like the worksuit on you," he said as he threw the dress to the floor and gathered her in his arms. "The engine grease on your face and hair is quite nice too."

"Oh no," She said, burying her face in his chest with embarrassment.

"It makes you look gorgeous," he whispered into her ear. His hands deftly removed the hairbands from her hair and mussed the golden corkscrews that fell free. He held her at arm's length and nodded with approval. "Yes. Completely, utterly incapacitating."

"You find the oddest things attractive," she said with a frown, "Why is a worksuit, engine grease and messy hair attractive?"

"Because it's real. It's messy and real, and honestly, what would be more of a turn on than knowing that you know your way around engines and circuits?" He kissed her then, a lot more passionately than usual. His hand cradled the back of her head and hers grasped his tunic tightly. Finally, he released her and she was quick to press another small kiss to the corner of his lips. He smiled at her, but with a want in his eyes she wasn't quite accustomed to. "By Rassilon, I love you so much."

Her thumb caressed his cheek. "I love you too."

"It's never been harder to keep my hands off you than it is right in this moment."

She flushed, but grinned at him impishly. "You don't have to keep them off me completely." She moved his hands to sit on her hips and he chuckled, letting them roam just a little.

"Good," he said, his fingers gently rubbing her back, "Because it was driving me crazy."

"You think that your pretty face doesn't drive me crazy?" Aliya asked. She cupped it in her hands. "I think about you all the time in ways that I shouldn't. Or, ways I would be horrified to have anyone else know about, that I know I'm still not comfortable with in reality."

He groaned. "You're not making this easier. The idea of you thinking about that sort of thing is... really something."

She bit her lip, and let her hand go to his trousers, touching him through the fabric and making him groan. She grinned up at him, loving the sense of power this always afforded her.

"That's not fair. Teaching you to think for yourself all those decades ago was dangerous."

Aliya laughed. "Possibly. But are you really complaining?"

"Not even a little," he said, "have I mentioned that I love you?"

"Once or twice. Now shut up and kiss me."

So he did.


After receiving a simple reply in the affirmative from the Defender in regards to their meeting in the Academy gardens, the day for the meeting finally rolled around a month later.

Aliya had talked to Drax the day before, so he and Theta were busy exploring some of the Andromeda galaxy archives for the entire afternoon.

She, however, was standing in front of her full-length mirror smoothing her dress for the seventh time. Despite everything with Theta, the tiny part of her that knew she still might be married to the man she was about to meet wanted to look good. She'd chosen a blue dress to match her right eye, and pulled her hair into a high horsetail with the golden headpiece.

"And breathe," she reminded herself. Mariaka's words played over in her head and she repeated them aloud. "He's a good man, he's a good man."

Finally, it was time to go. She left her room and the Academy student lodgings and walked through the corridors in a haze. Everything was a blur until she finally came to the entrance to the gardens. She walked through until she came to the center, her favourite part. There were hedges that naturally grew in perfect spirals and bright purple ferns that curled around the edge of a clear pond with a Seal of Rassilon mosaic on the bottom.

"Aliyanadevoralundar?"

Aliya went still at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. Slowly, she turned around. A tall, semi-muscular man stood several metres away, very formally. His face was comely enough, with a sort of ageless quality to it. His skin was tanned, and his hair was dark and tidily cropped close to his head. He was dressed in a flawless golden tunic and leggings. But it was the eyes that held her attention. They were grey and sharp, and trained on her. In them, she could see the formality she had expected, but also nervousness and a flash of vulnerability.

She wasn't the only one afraid of this meeting.

Let it not be said that I lack manners, she thought to herself. Immediately she swept into a quick bow.

"Yes, my lord."

He nodded curtly and bowed back in turn. "The Defender of Heartshaven."

"Really? I was expecting someone else," she said with a small smile. Confusion flashed through his eyes for a split second before understanding settled there. His serious mouth twitched for a moment. She ducked her head, embarrassed. "I'm sorry. Occasionally I make distasteful sarcastic jokes when I'm nervous. It's a... bad habit I've picked up, here."

"There's no need to apologise," the Defender said. He lifted his head to look at all the botanical beauties and anomalies around him. "You weren't exaggerating when you said the botany students had made some improvements."

"As the dedicated mechanic that I am, I would never exaggerate about something as serious as plants, my lord." She immediately covered her mouth. "I'm sorry, my lord, I mean no disrespect by these comments. They just come out."

He shook his head. "They are amusing." The word sounded strange coming from his mouth, like it was a word he wasn't familiar with. "Rassilon knows, it has been many a decade since I've been around anyone with a sense of humour."

"Is... is that a good thing?"

"It has enabled me to work more efficiently, without distraction," he told her, shrugging, "So in a sense, yes. But it can get a little dull after the first half a century or so. A little humour would hardly be a hardship in my life." When he looked at her, she was surprised to see that his eyes had lightened a little, and carried a minute spark that made her smile, albeit unsurely.

"Do you have a sense of humour?" she asked rather abruptly. He looked at her with a lifted eyebrow and she wished that the ground would swallow her whole.

"I believe I did once, in a past life," he answered, his lips twitching again, "Perhaps all I require is someone to help me find it again in this one."

She didn't know what to say. It would be so easy to just reply that of course she could help with that. But the words couldn't leave her mouth. She couldn't let herself make any kind of promise she didn't intend to keep. Instead she just gave him a tiny smile, which he returned rather tentatively.

"May I ask you something?" Aliya suddenly inquired. He nodded stiffly. "Why now? All these years, yet you only make contact now. What changed?"

He frowned and his blue eyes fixated on the floor momentarily before flicking back up to her face. "You are very young, which means that you appear young and vibrant. I am not young, and regeneration does not always yield the results we wish. Until three weeks ago, I was in my first regeneration, and I appeared to be old. Although our physicality hardly matters, I confess to being vain. I did not wish for your first impression of me to be someone old and withered, so I waited. Finally, an excursion off planet resulted in the body you now see before you. It may not be logical, but my waiting was as much for me as for you, Aliyanadevoralundar. I truly hope that you understand."

"I do," she said honestly, "It's perfectly understandable." Physical appearance was a fickle, silly thing, of course, and while she was fairly sure that someone would have to be truly old and wrinkled for them to be completely repulsive to her in that way, she couldn't deny that his current appearance was much more pleasing than the alternative he had described. Not that it mattered, really, given how unlikely it was that she would ever be attracted to him in any way.

She needed a new topic of conversation.

"So, your job. What is it exactly that you do?"

He explained to her that he was sent out to more primitive societies to help prevent potential conflicts like to involve Gallifrey in any way, for the sake of keeping Gallifrey safe in the long term.

"But wouldn't that go against the non-intervention policy?" Aliya asked him curiously.

"No, because it's not intervention as such. It is prevention of any threat to Gallifrey, in accordance with what the President sees in our future through the Matrix. It is events that have no effect on us that are not to be intervened on."

"I see."

They discussed it for many minutes, before it was time for him to leave.

"Well, Aliyanadevoralundar, I was glad to meet you," the Defender said. His body language was still stiff and formal, but he had relaxed marginally since his arrival.

"I was glad to meet you too."

He bowed to her and left the garden. She let her composure slip once he was gone, and hurried out once she had given him enough time to leave.


Aliya had completed half of a whole temporal engineering research assignment by the time Theta finally knocked on her door early that evening. All simple academic thoughts fell away and she was back to the state of emotional distress that she had been in when she had arrived back in her room.

"Come in," she called out, tugging on her horsetail nervously. Theta entered the room with the giant smile on his face that she loved so much.

"I've had the best day, Ali! Drax and I went to the Andromeda archives, and some of the stuff in there is just incredible!" He looked like he was about to go on when he did a double take. "What's with the fancy dress?"

Aliya got up from her desk and sat on her bed, patting the spot next to her. He sat. "Theta, I asked Drax to keep you busy today."

His head turned to her, his expression surprised and bemused. "What? Why?"

Her hand itched to hold his, but she kept it on her knee. "I met the Defender today."

Immediately, he jumped up. It was like someone had flicked a switch; the cheer was gone from him, and a shadow fell across his face as his eyes flashed. "What? Why in the name of Rassilon would you do that?" He asked indignantly. "Ali, why?"

"He wrote to me and requested to meet me!" she answered forcefully. "What was I supposed to do? Say no?"

"Yes!"

"We might be planning to escape this marriage, but the rest of the world can't know that yet," she reminded him, "if I had refused him, it would have been rude and odd. Besides, like you said, something could always go wrong."

"Nothing will go wrong," Theta said softly, kneeling in front of her, "I promise you that right now. If you have to meet him to keep anyone from being suspicious then I won't stop you. But please don't do it because you think there's a chance you might still end up married to him. I won't let that happen."

"But there is a chance, there'll always be a chance," she whispered, grasping his hands too tightly, "And it's alright for you to ignore it but I can't because it will be me that has to immediately marry a virtual stranger!"

His face twisted. "How can you say that it's alright for me? You think that just because it's your marriage that I won't suffer just as much?"

"You won't be the one who will have to be with someone else, so no, you won't!"

His fingers tightened on her forearms. "Aliya, I'd have to sit alone that night and know exactly what you were doing with him, and imagining the worst. Imagining the two of you just going through the motions... or even worse. Imagining you enjoying it."

"He's not you, I never would."

For a long moment, they just stared at each other. Finally, Theta ducked his head.

"I just can't believe that you don't trust me. I've told you time and time again that my plan will work." He lifted his chin and stared at her with eyes shining with betrayal and tears. "You don't trust me. After everything, you don't trust me."

"Theta, that's not-"

"What's the point of any of this if you don't trust me?!"

With that, he stormed out of the room, leaving her half in tears and wishing she could just believe in him 100%, instead of the 97% she was sitting on currently.


It took her two months - two agonising months of practically no contact with Theta - for her to properly think their situation over and realise that she needed to trust him, and that in fact, she did. Completely.

Aliya knocked on the door to his room and waited. When it swung open, she immediately launched herself right into his arms and hugged him for all she was worth.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said earnestly into the thin material of his undershirt, "I should never have doubted you for a second. You say that your plan will work. You say that it means we can be together. And…" She lifted her face to look him in the eye. "I know that you would never say that lightly. I just think I'd feel better if I knew what the plan was."

"It has to be a surprise. You knowing would... complicate things. Trust me," he replied, brushing a loose curl back behind her ear.

"Okay," she said, smiling up at him. He beamed from ear to ear and shut the door as he pulled her further inside.

"Thank you," he murmured into her neck, hugging to him tightly, "I won't let you down, I promise."

"I know. You never have and you never will," Aliya said with utter confidence, "And I'm a horrible friend to ever think you would." She kissed him softly, stretching up on her toes so that she could reach. "I was just so scared of losing you."

"You won't," he promised. "Never." He kissed her forehead. "I'll always be with you." He kissed her eyelids one at a time. "And Rassilon himself couldn't make me leave your side." She smiled at him and he kissed her full on the lips, cupping her face tenderly as their lips moved in tandem.

"I love you," She breathed against his lips, "So much."

"I love you too."


Five years later, Aliya walked with the Defender through the estates of Heartshaven. In particular, the one belonging to him, where it was planned that they would live together.

"What do you think?" he finally asked her. She had been silent for most of his tour. She looked at him and smiled slightly.

"It's beautiful here. And the facilities are more than agreeable."

He seemed pleased. "I'm glad that you think so." He paused a moment. "You seem considerably more quiet today."

"I don't mean to be," Aliya said to him apologetically. She could barely look at him without feeling guilt over what she was going to do to him in seventeen year's time.

"I am aware that I am not your first choice for marriage," the Defender said suddenly. "I know of the Lungbarrow boy-"

"He's not a boy, my Lord, not really. He's much more neutrally inclined."

"Ah, my apologies. Well, I know of him. Of your friendship with him that is... rumoured to be more than that. I wish to express my...sympathies...that it is not Lungbarrow and Arpexia that require a marital peace."

She looked at him with wide, surprised eyes. "... thank you. Most people would not be so considerate to even think of it to be worth mentioning. Even then, most would consider it a dalliance."

"From what I have heard from a few, it is far from a dalliance."

"It is," she admitted, and looked at him curiously. He stared back with an even gaze.

"I assure you, I make no judgement. Such affections are hardly criminal, even if they are fairly foreign to me personally. I have faith that you will do what is needed of you in the end."

"I'll do my duty," she said firmly, getting an approving nod from him.

But to my heart, not to my House.