*So here we are. The final hurdle, the end game. Part 1 of a three part finale. I have nothing left to say, except that this is The Wedding of the Doctor and I sincerely hope you enjoy it. And if you end up a quivering wreck on the floor, I'll have done what I set out to do. Geronimo. Thanks for reading, reviewing, following and favouriting. Two days left, two chapters to put up and I'm getting strangely emotional about the whole thing. TPD*
The Doctor sensed he had been here before. He was travelling with a girl who had run away with him on the night before her wedding. Only this time, the girl running with him was the girl he was going to marry and the wedding they were running from was his. Clara Oswald, the impossible girl. His impossible girl. Everything was all set up, everyone was ready. Everyone except the bride and groom. Clara had asked for one last trip before they married. So he'd obliged her. Only one trip had turned into two and suddenly, it had been a few days and they were still on the TARDIS. The Doctor promised that the next trip would be the last but he wasn't sure if either of them believed that. The TARDIS touched down and the Doctor stepped out, checking the atmosphere was safe. The planet they were landing on was notoriously volatile at certain points in its time stream and he didn't want Clara to choke.
"Nope," he yelled. "We're fine, you can come out of the TARDIS now! I give you, the planet of the Horned People. I mean it has some other boring, registered name something stupid like Orion Beta Slash Acorn Fifteen. But planet of the Horned People is both cooler and more accurate."
She stepped out and looked around in awe. The planet had a rich, green sky and a blue star, which shone in the sky and reflected off the beautiful purple lakes. There were herds of what appeared to be three headed wildebeests running around and the birds that flew in the sky were like reptiles. Clara drank it all in in an instant and turned to the Doctor, excitedly.
"So where are the Horned People?" she asked, excitedly. "Are they primitives? Or do they have proper technology, like we do on Earth?"
"They," the Doctor pulled a face. "Will be approximately three miles in that direction," he pointed behind the TARDIS, where their view was blocked by a grassy hill. "And they're an intriguing people, the Horned. They have technological capabilities that advance far beyond Earth very quickly but they have a very limited social and political structure, based on the ancient belief that their entire society is waiting."
"Waiting for what?" Clara raised an eyebrow.
"Their Queen." The Doctor took her hand and motioned for them to walk as he talked. "The Queen of the Horned is a legend, based down through generations. Their technology is incredible, but they have very limited uses of it. They firmly believe that their entire society needs to worship the one true Queen who will descend from the sky to rule over them. The one true Queen has been elected many times, but none have survived the process…"
"What process?" Clara didn't like the sound of this one bit.
"Well, many have nominated themselves, claiming to be the Queen. Once they are nominated, they are buried alive, in a vat. The vat contains certain elements," he paused. "To cut a long story short, she's dug up after a month and if she's still alive, then she is the one true queen. Nobody survives. They have no Queen. And, as such, their entire society is flat. Waiting. They have no government, no leaders. Their structure is as limited as can be because they have no leadership. They all believe that there is no individual or set of individuals who should be allowed to lead them BUT the Queen. And she'll never turn up, because their process is a lethal concoction. They could be the greatest species in all eternity, but their flawed belief system keeps them trapped." He bit his lip and smiled at Clara sadly, who looked upset. "It's a tragic story. But probably for the best," he sighed. "The last thing the universe needs is another technologically superior species throwing their hat into the ring."
They reached the top of the hill and Clara gasped in amazement as they looked down on the city. It was an incredible combination of simplicity and technology. The roads seemed basic and none of the buildings were taller than two stories, but the place seemed to radiate power and energy. The Doctor beamed at Clara and grabbed her hand. They ran down the hill, laughing and joking as they reached the bottom and headed off towards the city. They passed some Horned as they got closer and Clara realised that they really were just normal people, only with horns. The name was apt. She asked the Doctor what they called themselves and he just shrugged and said: People.
The city was bustling with trade and conversation but although it had the technology of something out of the future, it had a very medieval structure to it, like the people were trading chickens for bread. The Doctor motioned for Clara to follow him and they slipped through the back streets of the city. Then, he was distracted by something, wandering off and waving a hand to Clara as if to say he'd be back. She giggled and swivelled on the spot, taking in the atmosphere. She almost bumped into a passing man and she blushed, apologising. But he was staring at her. This didn't look good.
"You have no horn," he said intrigued. "Why is that?"
"Um," Clara tried to think of an answer. "I'm not from around here," she replied with a smile. "I'm just visiting, with a friend."
"There is no species to be found in this world that does not have a horn," he gasped. "Did you fall from the sky?"
"Yeah, you could say that," Clara chuckled, thinking of the Doctor and his TARDIS. Then she caught herself, eyes widening and realising exactly where the man's thought process was going. "No. No, I'm not the Queen," Clara insisted, stumbling backwards as several people were now looking at her. "I'm not the Queen!"
"Of course she is!" someone shouted. "We've been blind. Who would we be to think that the true Queen would reveal herself to us and admit it? She would hide in the shadows, make us find her and earn her majesty. Take her to the pit!"
"Doctor!" Clara screamed as the men gathered around her, picking her up as she struggled. She bit and scratched and they dropped her and she stumbled to run before something hit her. Hard and on the back of the head. She fell to the floor, gasping and struggling to get back to her feet. She felt pain rush through her and the world went hazy. She reached out and then the world went black…
The Doctor had heard the ruckus and a terrifying thought went through his head. He scrambled over to where whatever was happening had happened and grabbed someone nearby who had been watching the events unfold.
"What's happening?" he asked frantically.
"They've found the true Queen!" the woman cried joyously. "A girl, with no horn who isn't from our world. She said she dropped from the sky. But she reckons she's not the Queen, clever thing. So, they're taking her to be tested now."
"No!" the Doctor yelled, pushing past the woman and racing towards the crowd. He found people blocking his way at every turn and the harder he tried to push through, the more they resisted. "No she's not your Queen, listen to me! Please! Clara!" He struggled but someone shoved him back and he fell back into the crowd, people rushing all around him. He needed a better plan, but with Clara in danger he couldn't think straight. He stumbled onwards, desperately throwing people aside to try and reach her. He took a deep breath and backed off. He needed to try another approach. The back alleys. It might not be directly faster but if he ran, he could easily outstrip this giant mob of people. He pelted his way down the next road along, throwing anyone who tried to get in his way aside. The Doctor skidded left and stumbled into the centre of the town. There it was; the pit. There was a glass cage suspended above it, on ground level. They'd put Clara in, strap her down, flood the cage with poison and then bury her underground. If that happened…he shuddered just thinking about it.
The Doctor ran over to the cage but the crowd had entered the square and were charging towards it, half a dozen people lifting an unconscious Clara. The Doctor stood between them and the cage and realised that they wouldn't stop, so plunged into his pocket and raised his sonic in the air, covering his ears as he sent out a blast of noise that got the crowd's attention. They fell silent, staring at him. One man stepped forward.
"Who are you?" he snarled. "You dare stand between us and the sacred cage?"
"I'm the Doctor," the Doctor replied. "And yes the cage is sacred, but it's also murder." He pointed at Clara. "You put her in that cage and she will die. I will not allow that to happen."
"And yet," the man scoffed. "You have no way of stopping us. We are many, but you are just one. The girl will not die. She is the Queen. She fell from the stars to make us great. To rule us. She is destined to succeed. You will not try to stop us, heathen. Non-believers will be purged."
"She didn't fall from the stars," the Doctor snapped. "She materialized in a blue box. And she is not your Queen." He smiled. "She is my Queen. Or at least she will be when I get her home. This time tomorrow, we'll be married. And there is no a force in this universe that shall stop that from happening. I'm the Doctor. I'm the Oncoming Storm. I have torn entire worlds out of the sky to save the people I love and if you think for a second that I wouldn't do it again then you are sadly mistaken. That woman is the woman I love and you will let her go. If you try to put her in this cage," he paused, trying to regain some modicum of self-control and failing. "I will burn your city to cinders and ash and I will not stop until every single one of you loses the thing you love most. Because I will not let you take her."
"A great speech, evil wizard." The man was apparently unmoved. "But we have waited millennia for this day to come. And no evil force will prevent our Queen from rising to her position as our rightful leader. Dispose of him!"
The Doctor leant against the ground, pressing his ear to it, holding up a hand in surrender as he did so. Three men who had been running towards him stopped at this strange act and glanced at each other before back at the crowd. The Doctor nodded appreciatively as he was able to detect the undercurrents in the ground that indicated which fields would control which parts of the underground force field. He soniced the floor and an invisible wall appeared between him and the crowd. The men carrying Clara waiting as ten more burst past them, charging the Doctor and bouncing off the field, knocking them unconscious. The Doctor snorted arrogantly and turned his attention to the cage. He shoved it brutally and he listened to the howls of the men in the crowd as it swayed. He soniced the cables holding it and kicked the cage as hard as he could. It tumbled back, into the pit, falling and smashing against the dirt far below. Whatever poisons were in the cables were leaking and the Doctor jumped back to avoid them. He pressed his sonic against the cables and stared down the first man he'd spoken to. More men had tried to charge the force field and had been knocked back.
"One more chance," the Doctor said quietly. "I can fold back these cables, sending all the chemicals back where they came from. The overload would blow up your factory and the resulting pollution would mean that it will rain acid from the sky for a hundred years. Give me Clara. Or I will rain hell upon your city. I've already shown what I am capable of. You must have some sort of legend for me. I am the Devil."
Someone snorted with laughter at this and the Doctor looked to see Clara sitting up scrambling off the six men who yelped and backed away, seemingly afraid of her. She strolled past the men, up to the force field. The Doctor walked back so they were face to face, a few inches apart, and then they both burst into laughter, the horror-stricken and confused faces of the Horned around them making the entire situation even funnier.
"You?" she asked incredulously. "The Devil? Don't make me laugh. You would never in a million years rain hellfire down on them, your bluffs are getting worse."
"Oh I would so have rained hellfire!" the Doctor replied, failing to convince even himself. "I would have rained hellfire so hard, it would make their heads…melt probably. Are you okay?"
"Fine, idiots just knocked me out. Thought I was their Queen, can you believe that? Lower the force field thing and then we can leg it. I presume that's the plan?"
"Clara, dodge." The Doctor nodded behind her as a man charged her and she stepped to one side, the man colliding with the field and crumpling. "Yeah that's basically the plan," he soniced and the field dissipated. He grabbed her hand and there was a moment of total intimacy between them until the men behind Clara made a dash for them. "Run!"
As he closed the TARDIS doors behind him, the Doctor shared a grin with Clara. She threw herself onto the sofa and beckoned him over with a crook of her finger. He obliged, naturally and sat down beside her, kissing the top of her forehead. She slipped her hand into his and they looked at each other for what was in fact a moment but felt like forever.
"Thanks for trying to save me," Clara grinned. "And I suppose, technically, you did save me. It's what you do, you do it very well. But," she bit her lip and looked at him. "I think it's time we stopped running. You stopped saving me. I think, it's time to get married."
"Geronimo."
This was it. This was the day. Clara rolled out of bed, glancing back at the slumbering Time Lord. This was the day she'd been dreaming of. It was funny, she thought, as she showered. She'd spent her whole life dreaming of travelling and when she was a kid, she'd dreamed of marrying a man from a faraway land. And now, both of those dreams were falling into her lap. The man who would take her travelling. She had half contemplated quitting her job, but it felt good to have something to hang onto, to keep her arched in real life. And her life with the Doctor around felt as real as the nights she spent on that TARDIS. She climbed out of the shower. She was meeting Jenna in twenty minutes and it was bad luck for the bride to see the groom on the day of her wedding. She slipped into some clothes and went downstairs. Jenna was waiting for her outside as she shut the front door and hugged her best friend.
"Nervous?" Jenna asked as they drove towards the hotel just outside of London where the wedding would take place. Most of the guests were staying there, but Clara had suspected that she would have some last minute jitters and need to run away with a spaceman in a box, so had said she'd meet Jenna in the morning.
"Of course," Clara giggled. She realised she wasn't nervous about marrying the Doctor, she was nervous about what came next. The honeymoon. She knew the Doctor had been holding back now for a while, months in fact, saving some of the best destinations for that day. She just hoped she could survive his destinations. The last place he'd taken her, she'd almost been buried underground and left for dead. "What bride isn't a little nervous on the day of her wedding?"
"Aha you don't look it," Jenna smirked. "You're as cool as a cucumber. You look as if you're about to run a marathon, you're so composed and ready. Any idea where he'll be taking you for the honeymoon?" she nudged Clara gently with her shoulder and Clara blushed.
"Everywhere," she whispered. Jenna shot her an odd look but didn't comment straight away.
"You've changed Clara," she said eventually. Clara raised an eyebrow. "You're different. You're still the same confident, yet fragile girl I've always known, but you seem more…I dunno. Sometimes you'll say something, something really weird. Something that makes no sense and you'll smile because you know it makes no sense to us but it makes perfect sense to you. It's like the Doctor…" Jenna paused. "It's like he's showed you another world and you spend so long living in it, you forget what the real world is like."
"You're right," Clara smiled. She didn't know how right. "The Doctor has shown me another world. His world. And his world is the most breath-taking thing I've experienced, it's more than anyone can handle. It's more than I can handle at times. It's dangerous and manic but it's left me more alive than teaching ever could." Clara laughed hysterically. "I'm Clara Oswald the teacher but I'm also Clara Oswald, the impossible girl. And I'm sorry I let it leak through but you can't understand what it's like."
"It's okay Clara," Jenna reassured her. "As long as you're happy and as long as the Doctor keeps you safe, then that's good enough for all of us. It always has been. We love you to bits Clara and this Doctor has an impact on you, more than anyone I've ever seen. That can only be a good thing. We're here."
They pulled up outside the hotel and Clara's dad greeted her at the door, pulling her into a huge hug. She realised that her dad must've been worried sick that she wouldn't make it. After all, they missed half their appointments because of unscheduled TARDIS trips, why should her own wedding be any different?
"It's brilliant to see you Clara love," he said. His voice dropped to a whisper. "Made it back to the right day then eh?"
"It seems so," she giggled in response. "Let's go inside."
They headed in, Clara being guided and ushered through to her own little parlour. They had five hours until the ceremony and she had a team of friends, female family members and makeup artists trying to make her look her best. The dress was the most gorgeous shade of white Clara had ever seen or realised it was possible to be. It rippled and curled in all the right places and fit Clara like a dream. It was the most beautiful dress she'd ever worn. The dressmaker didn't remember making it or where it had come from, but it had been in the shop when she'd got there. She suspected Time Lord trickery but wasn't about to complain. She'd merely thanked him that night, though he feigned innocence. There were two bows on her dressing table, matching the bow ties that she'd got the Doctor for Christmas, one TARDIS blue, one Clara red. Clara red wasn't a colour, she'd protested, until the Doctor took her to a mall in the future where it was in fact listed as a colour. She could've killed him. She insisted, despite protestations, that the bows were put into her hair, which was left down and curled into ringlets. It had grown a lot in the past six months and Clara was feeling beautiful enough without the subtle highlights that had been added the previous week.
The makeup team were the next to act and Clara was very firm that she didn't want to overdo it and look like a tramp. She didn't like them at all, they were very patronising and acted as though she was a minor annoyance and that they knew best. The most annoying thing was that they were probably right. They were very subtle though, a splash here, a flick there. She looked in the mirror when they were finished and almost cried. She could never have imagined looking so good. Clara wasn't vain and didn't generally care about her appearance too much, but it was her wedding day and she figured she could at least appreciate how amazing the job everyone had done for her was before she ruined it with a trip to the mud planet of ripped dressville. She grinned and twirled for the girls, Jenna and Karen cooing like little girls whilst Billie beamed and told her how beautiful she was. Clara glanced at the clock. Not long now. Maybe half an hour.
"We'd better be off, take our places," Jenna enthused. "Your dad will be here in a minute to guide you. Good luck and we'll see you on the other side. Mrs…what actually is his name? All you've told us is that he's called the Doctor."
"That is his name," Clara told them. "The only name that matters anyway. If I told you his real name, it would probably blow a hole in the cosmos and the entire universe would fall apart."
Jenna rolled her eyes and muttered something about being overly melodramatic. Clara giggled as she was left alone. And closed her eyes, desperate for a moment's peace before her nerves shredded and she died of happiness. When she opened her eyes again, she wasn't in her dressing room. She was in a white corridor, staring at two violet blue creatures with long necks and piercing stares.
"Oh for fuck's sake!" she groaned. "Not now. Come on. I was about to get married."
"You will save us. The Doctor will save us." They said in unison.
"You know its bad luck for me to see my bride on the day of the wedding!" The Doctor snapped from behind her, making her jump in shock. "It's a good thing we got married a few hundred thousand years ago, eh Clara?"
She swivelled, punching him furiously. He held up his hands in protest. He looked sharp; there was no denying that, in his black suit and new bow tie. He was angry; she could see that and guessed it was because he had absolutely no idea what they were doing there either. The TARDIS was behind them both and she was at least glad that the machine had made it. She looked at him, expecting answers.
"Don't look at me, not my choice to bring us here."
"You will save us Doctor, or you will die with us."
"Well then, looks like we're saving people Clara. Geronimo."