PHOENIX RISING

Chapter 3

One of the men, obviously the leader of the group, took a step forward.

"Who are you?" he demanded, examining the Time Lord's odd attire.

Before the Gallifreyan could reply, Nariam moved past him. "What are you doing here, Hillis? This is my home! You have no right to come barging in here, especially not with a band of armed ruffians! Get out!" she ordered pointing to the door with authority.

"Oh, so you're Hillis," the Doctor put in, placing himself between the men and Nariam. "The man who would be Nariam's suitor."

Again, Hillis looked over the man before him. "And I take it that you are a rival for her hand in marriage."

The Doctor grimaced slightly at Hillis' words. "I wouldn't exactly say that. More like a defender of her right to choose whom she wishes to marry and her right not to marry if she wishes not to do so."

Hillis watched the Gallifreyan for a moment before returning his eyes to Nariam. "You still refuse marriage?"

She straightened herself noticeably. "Hillis, I would rather marry a goat than marry a traitorous slimy thing like you," she told him with a glare.

His eyes turned towards the Doctor. "And you… what do you call yourself?"

"I am the Doctor," the Time Lord replied, confidence and authority in his voice.

Hillis huffed. "Doubtful. Doctors do not break Makan's law. Arrest them both."

"What?!" the Doctor and Nariam exclaimed in unison.

"You are an accomplice to her crimes, Doctor," Hillis explained as the remaining five men surrounded them. "You turn your back away from Makan's laws by condoning and encouraging her actions."

"Leave him alone, Hillis!" Nariam called out as two men grabbed her arms tightly. "Let go of me, you beasts!"

The Doctor moved to try to release Nariam from the grips of her captors but found himself unable to do so, his own arms firmly in the holds of two other men. He said nothing as the fifth man went first to the Doctor and then to Nariam, tying their hands behind their backs.

"This is a big mistake," the Time Lord told them, his eyes firmly looking into Hillis'.

"No, Doctor whoever you are. You are the one who made the mistake in defying Makan." He took a step back and took a deep breath. "By the laws of Makan and by these witnesses, with the authority given to me as Governor by the Great Council of Teranovo…"

"You're the Governor?!" the Doctor exclaimed. He turned his head towards Nariam. "You didn't tell me he was the Governor!" He grinned widely at her. "You really are a rebel! Nariam… I like you!"

Hillis frowned at him strongly. "Do you still stand with her against Makan?" he questioned, obviously giving the Doctor an option out.

"Against injustice? Against forcing someone into marriage? Against taking everything that is rightfully hers? Against exiling the innocent simply because they are inconvenient? What harm has she done to anyone? Has she assaulted anyone? Has she stolen from anyone? Her only 'crime' is being unwilling to give everything that is hers to a man she doesn't love." The Time Lord took a step forward, his eyes dark. "So, yes. I stand with her against you and your false god."

Hillis gave a little smirk. "And now you commit blasphemy against Makan. You are indeed as guilty as her. Therefore, as Governor by the will of the Makan, I hereby banish both of you to the wilderness. And may Bressin be merciful to you." He turned to leave the house, knowing that the armed guards he had brought would bring their prisoners with them.

"Wait a minute," the Doctor spoke up. "Don't I get a last request? A blue box. A big blue box sitting in the temple. Could you possibly exile it along with us?"

The Governor stopped, turning towards the Doctor with sudden interest. "A blue box, you say. In the temple. Well… isn't that interesting."

"Please," the Gallifreyan continued. "It's worthless to you but it's the only thing I have. Literally. It's the only thing I'm asking for."

"And what exactly is inside your blue box?"

"Nothing. It's just sentimental value," the Doctor lied.

Hillis smiled slightly. "Then it will be a nice addition to the fire woods in the Great Hall."

The Doctor looked at him as if he'd just been kicked. "Oh, now, you're just being mean!" he told him as he and Nariam were pulled forcibly from the house and into the streets before being thrown into a waiting cart. The guards followed them on the cart and, a moment later, the small transport jerked forward, forcing the Doctor to brace his right leg against the side to prevent Nariam and him from falling out.

After the sun had completely disappeared from sighed, it became obvious to the Doctor that the trip was going to go on through the night and into the next day. He glanced at Nariam, noting her exhaustion even with only the dual moonlight to light the dark sky. Looking towards the guards, he dared to speak up.

"May I make a request?" Gaining glares from the guards, he hurried forwards with his words. "This sojourn is obviously going to take many hours and I'm fine with that myself. But Nariam needs rest. Could you possibly untie her so that she can lie down comfortably?" The glares hardened at his words. "Oh, come on!" he exasperated. "She's one hundred eighty-seven days pregnant! She's not going to risk her life and the life of her unborn child just to make an ill-advised attempt to escape. Just look at her!"

One of the guards followed the Doctor's nod towards Nariam. Taking a deep breath, he carefully moved closer towards her and then looked at the Gallifreyan with wariness.

"If either of you try anything, we'll shoot you without hesitation."

"Of that, I am quite certain," the Time Lord replied. He exhaled quietly with relief as the guard untied Nariam and helped her to lie down. "Thank you," he told the guard genuinely. Turning his head towards the pregnant woman, he questioned, "You okay?" Gaining a nod of affirmation, the Doctor leaned back as best as he could and closed his eyes while keeping himself alert to everything happening around him.

When the cart finally stopped, the two prisoners were forced off. The Doctor, his hands still bound, only just landed on his feet. Nariam, on the other hand, lost her balance and fell.

The helpless Gallifreyan could only glare at the guards as they roughly pulled her to her feet and slapped her. "Treat her with such disrespect again and you'll answer to me," he warned, gaining only laughter as a response.

A guard pushed the pregnant woman so that she was standing beside the Time Lord. When the guards moved away, apparently on another related task, the latter turned to her.

"Are you okay?" he questioned with concern.

"I'm unharmed," Nariam told him in a low voice. She sighed. "It appears the gods really do not exist after all. If they did, I doubt that they would allow this to happen. A pregnant widow and a Sasane being cast into darkness."

"I'll get us out of this. I promise," the Doctor assured.

"Just as you promised you would not allow me to be exiled?" she questioned.

The Time Lord shrugged slightly. "That assertion was based on the idea that the Governor could be reasoned with. Since Plan A didn't work, we'll have to revert to Plan Two… or B."

"What's Plan Two or B?"

"I'll think of something," he replied, moving his head from side to side.

Nariam rolled her eyes slightly as Hillis approached them, having supervised his guards' activities beforehand.

"Nariam, I give you one last chance. Obey the laws of Makan and become my wife," he ordered bluntly.

The defiant woman took a deep breath. "I have been shown so much in only a couple of hours' time. This morning, I only had doubts about the laws you hold so dear, about the accepted interpretation of the sacred texts. But events have shown me the truth, a truth I had always known in my heart but was afraid to accept. And the truth is that the Sasani are not gods. The laws you attribute to Makan are actually those of the Lensiati. And you, Governor Hillis, betray your people by following those laws. If being exiled is my fate for believing in these truths, then so be it."

The Governor said nothing in response to Nariam's words, gesturing for the guards to follow him back to their carts.

"You're just going to leave us here with no means to defend ourselves?" the Doctor shouted at their retreating forms. Not receiving an answer, he turned to his new friend. "Not very sporting, are they?"

They watched in silence as Hillis' band rode away, not even looking back towards the people they abandoned.

The Time Lord quickly and carefully took in their surroundings, noting the lack of man-made structures in the area. Where the carts had been, there was now a small supply of provisions, enough to last a day at the most, as well as a bow and a quiver of arrows.

"Well, it may not be much but they did give us something. Wish they had untied me first," the Doctor commented, shifting his arms back and forth for several long seconds before bringing his hands around to the front with a wide grin.

"You're a wizard!" Nariam exclaimed, seeing that he had miraculously freed himself.

"Nah, just a trick that I picked up from my old friend Harry Houdini. Interesting fellow, Houdini was. Had a fascination for aeroplanes and film." He gave her a wide grin. "Used to be friends with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle until they had a difference of opinion concerning the supernatural. Arthur believed in it; Harry debunked it on a regular basis." He shook his head. "And there I was, caught in the middle."

"And how is this tale of your friends related to our predicament, Doctor?" the Teranovian questioned with a frown of confusion.

"Umm… it isn't. Not really." He quickly walked over to the supplies that had been left for them and, crouching, examined them. "They didn't give us much. A quiver and a bow…and not a very good bow at that. This thing couldn't make a leaf fly," he said with a grimace. "Couple of arrows, not that that helps us with that poor excuse for a bow." He picked up a large round purple object. "What is this?" he questioned.

"A drenza fruit," Nariam told him. "It's a common enough food source."

"From the name if it, I gather that it's a very hearty," the Doctor commented, turning the fruit in his hand before tossing it up in the air and catching it again. Noticing the questioning look on his companion's face, he clarified. "Well, it's obvious that a lot of the names you give things are derived from Gallifreyan. And the word 'drenta' means blood." He rolled his "R" as he spoke the word. "Therefore, that gives the connotation that this fruit is thick like blood."

She smiled gently at his explanation. "You, of course, are correct, Sasane."

The Doctor gave her a pointed look and then sighed in frustration. "I don't suppose that I will be able to break you of that particular habit." Turning back to the meager supplies, he sorted through them, tossing several items to the side, much to Nariam's surprise.

"Won't we need those to survive in this wilderness?"

"No," the Gallifreyan told him. "Primarily because we are not staying in this wilderness. We're going back to the village."

She looked at him as if he had lost his mind. "And how are we going to get back? We don't even know where we are! We rode hard for at least ten hours, even with the stops to water the animals and rest. The sun had already set when we left and now it is already in the sky again."

"Seventeen hours thirty-four minutes, give or take a minute," the Doctor corrected her. "You slept through most of the trip, surprising considering your condition. I mean, when my wife was pregnant, she hardly slept four hours at a time."

Nariam gave him a gentle but surprised smile. "You're married?"

The Doctor's face grew somber as he realized he had given out more information than he wanted. "I was. Long time ago. She died. They all died." He finished sorting through the supplies, using the quiver as a carryall and tossing the bow and arrows to the side. Standing, he slung the quiver over his shoulder. "Here we go! Only what we need and nothing more."

"No weapons?" she questioned with a frown. "No means to defend ourselves?"

He gazed into her eyes firmly. "I have all the weapons that I need right here," he told him, tapping the side of his head. Extending his hand to her, he gave her a smile. "Shall we? It's a long walk but we'll take it nice and easy."

"We still don't know where we are," Nariam protested, not taking his hand.

"We are approximately three hundred fifty miles north northwest of your village."

She frowned at his words. "What is a mile?"

He raised his eyebrows. "What measurement do you use for distance?"

"A plankart."

"And what's a plankart?" He shook his head. "You know what? Never mind. Sufficed to say, it will take about three of your days to walk back to the village."

"And why should we go back to the village when only death will greet us there? Hillis will have us both sacrificed directly to the Lensiati for violating our exile."

The Doctor dropped his pro-offered hand. "I need to get my TARDIS."

The Teranovian sighed with sadness. "I'm afraid your great temple will have already been burned before we even get a quarter of the way there."

"Nah! Takes a lot more than a little fire to destroy my ship." He offered his hand to her again. "So, what do you say? You could stay out here in the wilderness and hope that nothing happens to you or your unborn child, hope that you find other exiles to assist you, hope that no dangerous wildlife find you or the Lensiati don't pick you up… or you can come back to the village with me. I promise that I won't let anything happen to you or your child. I will protect you. What do you say?"

Nariam regarded the man before her for a long time. Certainly he had opened her eyes to many things but he didn't seem like a fighter to her. He was far too thin and tall and he refused to bring the only weapon that Hillis had left for them. Yet, she could see in his eyes that he was a soldier at one time. His eyes were haunted with the same look she had seen in her father's eyes during the Great War with the Lensiati. She also couldn't explain it but she trusted him ever since she had seen him stepping out of his blue temple and that trust only grew with his admittance of not being a god.

Slowly, she slipped her hand into his. "I may have only met you less than a day ago but I trust you with my life and the life of my child. Be my guide home, Sasane." She gave him a wide smile to which the Doctor replied with an almost manic grin.

Together they started the long walk back in the direction they had come.