-REMEMBER ME-
PART II
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Tragalade
The hall that I face is something that might once have been very beautiful, and majestic, but has now fallen into disrepair. The whole place is crumbling, the pillars, the statues, the fountains that might once have sparkled are now empty and moldy. The pillars lead up in a row to a central figure, what once might have been a throne, but is now merely the head space at a table. A table that is stacked with papers, maps, weights, instruments, weapons. A table of a working society that has no time for grandeur.
On the throne sits a man, a very old man with a grisly gray beard with a white stripe running from his chin all the way down to his belt. From his scarred belt hangs a dagger. His hair is short, though, stopping at his shoulders, which are broad and covered in worn leather pads, like armor. The armor covers his whole body. When he stands, it creaks.
He walks with a limp as he moves around the table, his shockingly blue eyes are fixed on you, never wavering, always steady, even as he grimaces as he walks. When he speaks, his beard wobbles, up and down, the white streak bobbling in time with his chin.
"Hello, Doctor," he says. He eyes you like a prize, but there is a certain amount of deference in the way he approaches you, like he is approaching a God. And there is a warmth towards you as he greets you, like that of an old friend. "You said, a long time ago, that you would return. And here you are. But looking quite different than you did then. You said you would."
You narrow your eyes at the man.
"I've never met you before," you say. "And I never forget a face."
Except mine, I think grumpily, surprising myself. I thought that seed of resentment from you forgetting me as a child was gone, but perhaps it burns inside me instead, like a hot coal waiting to burst into flame.
"Not yet," says the man, with a smirk and a twinkle in his eye. "But you will."
He holds out his hand.
"I am Tragalade," he says, and you shake his hand. Then he holds out his hand to me. I place my hand in his, and he takes it and kisses it. His beard tickles my hand and I blush.
"Clara," I introduce myself with a giggle. Tragalade smiles at me. You clear your throat, almost a growling sound as you scowl slightly, as Tragalade drops my hand, and gestures around us.
"Welcome, to the Old City. It might not look like much, but this is where we make our stand. This was once a place of great power, of great history and great achievement. For centuries it has held our leaders, and the people who elected those leaders. No longer. Now, they're just us, the rebels, and me, their leader. Make yourselves at home, such as it is."
"Thank you," I say out of politeness. Tragalade smiles at me again and I smile back. You stuff your hands in your pockets, looking grumpy.
"Come, Doctor, Clara. There is much you need to know. Things we must discuss, and the less ears that hear the better."
"Trexalore, my lord…there…there has been…a…a problem."
The silence that follows this statement is possibly one of the most frightening and longest in Trenzalore's long history.
The messenger kneels before Trexalore as he delivers his news, his armor rattles as he trembles. The whole throne room is completely silent for a very long time as Trenxalore absorbs this information.
"What kind of problem?" he asks, in a quiet, deadly voice.
The only sound in the throne room is the messenger's rattling armor.
"The…the Doctor and his companions….they…they…."
"They what?" says Trexalore, his voice louder, deeper, and even more deadly than before.
"They have escaped," says the messenger in a very hushed voice.
The silence permeates every inch of every guard in the room.
And then, comes a voice from seemingly within the walls. It is a strange, metallic, manic voice. It's voice strikes fear into the heart of every man and woman in the vicinity.
"THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE."
Trexalore stands. And even his carefully constructed mask cracks slightly, a hint of fear in his eyes.
Then the voice speaks again, and from an opening in the wall behind the throne a metal monster emerges. A monster that looks like a giant pepper pot. With a single gleaming eyestalk, with a whisk and plunger for arms.
"THE DOCTOR AND HIS COMPANIONS MUST BE FOUND! IF THEY ARE NOT, THEY WILL WREAK UNTOLD HAVOC ON OUR PLAN. THE DOCTOR IS A THREAT. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE HIM OR HIS COMPANIONS. THE DOCTOR MUST BE RECOVERED AND EXTERMINATED!"
"He will be," snarls Trexalore.
A/N: Hehehehe, I bet NONE of you saw that one coming!
Feel free to fangirl/fanboy/fanalien in the review section! (You know you want to ;D )