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This next segment was partially inspired by F. Schubert's Lied 'Der Tod und das Mächen' (Death and the Maiden). This chapter involves a bit more dialogue between Elisabeth and the Doctor. I've always wanted to explore the relationship between my original Companion and the Doctor.
Vienna, Austria. Mid-November, 1828.
The woman peered through the shutters of her window. Her blank, grey eyes gazed down on the procession down below. A horse, speckled grey, led a carriage adorned in black. The rain fell softly like the whispers of the dead, disappearing into virtually nothing as they drift through the air.
She glanced down, tightening the knot on the bandage at her forearm. It can't slip off, especially when people are around. They can't know. Nobody expects such a young woman to worry and fret about life and death. She looks older than she is, her chestnut curls streaked with silver. But it's just something that runs in the family.
As far as she knows, the phantoms have already taken one life. The life of Franz Schubert, renowned composer.
The shadows are out for blood.
She rose and put on a bonnet. It was time to go to the market.
"Doctor, do you have any idea what this is?" Elisabeth picked up the small brooch, the one she had found on her when she first came to her senses. It was quite an elaborate jewel, really. A white sillouette against a dark background. "I don't think this belongs to me. I don't think I'd be wearing this and my flannel shirts at the same time, won't I?"
The Doctor studied the brooch. "Funny. Wait, I'll get my toolkit." He rushed off, dropping the brooch with a nasty clang on the table.
"Blast, this thing is hard to see without my-" Elisabeth cut herself off, the sudden reality hitting her. "My glasses! The ones I got from the Underground. I've lost them in Beijing."
"I've got a spare pair in one of the roundels. I think it's the second one on the left of the door." The Doctor called, returning with a heavy toolbox.
Elisabeth walked to the door, finding the roundel she thought the Doctor was instructing her to. She looked back, earning a nod of approval from him. Tentatively she pulled back, wondering how to open the compartment.
"You know what you're doing. Just think." The Doctor assured. With her back to him, Elisabeth couldn't really understand his tone of voice. He didn't seem assuring this time, nor did he seem cross. Her fingers went to the edges of the roundel, pressing down slightly. It popped open, and Elisabeth removed the lid.
"Why would you get a pair of these?" Elisabeth exclaimed, bringing out the half-moon glasses. "Doctor, are they yours?"
"Yes, indeed."
Elisabeth made a sour face and put them on. "Helps a bit." She walked back, leaning on the console. "But how did you know I knew how to open the roundel? You've never taught me, and I've never done it on your own."
Having heard the question, the Doctor froze for a brief moment. "You're very intelligent. I'm sure you can figure out a lot of things on your own."
She was not as satisified with his answer as he thought she would. "You saw something, didn't you? That night when you sent me to sleep. There must've been something buried deep in my thoughts you picked out. Why can't you tell me what's in my mind? I should deserve to know. It's my mind."
The Doctor sighed. "There was a mental block placed for a reason, which you'll know in due time, when you're ready."
"When am I not ready?" Elisabeth burst, before stopping herself and clapping her hands over her mouth. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have said that."
"How did you feel yesterday, on the deck of the Dalek ship? Jack told me you were shivering with horror."
Elisabeth gulped, choosing her words wisely. "It's been happening, recently. It just felt I wasn't in my own body, and I had no control over any situation."
The Doctor looked up. "How did you feel?"
"Numb, that's what. Now can we move onto something else?" Elisabeth threw out. She peered closer at the brooch, which was now under more close examination by the Doctor. "Why did you need the toolkit?"
The Doctor retrieved a flat-headed screwdriver. "It's more than just a brooch, I suspect. Things can be hidden in here. Microphones, homing devices - those are just some of the devices hidden in normal, everyday items." Gripping the brooch in a pair of tweezers, he pried the button off the steel backing, revealing a set of complicated circuits.
"What is it?" Elisabeth asked, leaning forward.
The Doctor looked troubled. He raised the circuit up to the light to take a better look at it. "Pass me my glasses," The Doctor said.
Elisabeth took them off and handed them to him. After all, she didn't need them when not looking at close objects. It was a frustrating experience, being a bit visually impaired. The glasses made her dizzy, but it helped her to focus on close objects, or when she was reading. The Doctor slipped them on, looking at the circuit intensely. "Chameleon arch," The Doctor proclaimed.
Elisabeth's heart skipped a beat. "What?"
The Doctor put the circuit down on the console, stepping away. "Maybe we should go for lunch. Aren't you hungry, Elise?"
"I-er yes." Elisabeth stammered. "Where are we now? We could just pop out and grab a small bite. Let's get Jack. I don't know where he is. Probably getting lost in the corridors."
The Doctor gave a small chuckle, and it warmed Elisabeth's heart to see him smile.
She turned her back to him, pushing away a small thought that had formed. After several weeks of travelling with him, she couldn't help but feel emotionally attached to the Doctor, as much as she didn't like to admit it. Just being around him made her feel delighted. Of course, he wasn't the only thing that lifted her spirits, but he was a vital part of her life and being a traveller on his ship made him a vital part of her life. Well, for now.
The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, locking the doors behind him. Taking a whiff of the air he took his hat from his pocket and unrolled it, plopping it on his head. "Mid-Europe, nearing the end of the 1820s." The Doctor assumed, crossing his arms. "I'm not very good with dates. I should never travel with an archeologist, you know. All they do is point and laugh at time-travellers when something goes a bit awry. They think we're the ones who mess it all up."
Jack stuck out a palm. "It's drizzling."
"I don't mind," Elisabeth said.
The Doctor looked around. "We better get out of the road. There's a procession coming along." He pulled Jack and Elisabeth aside, and removed his hat as a gestures of respect. The horse-drawn carriage went by, and nobody exchanged a single word.
"Hey, I'm not very up to date with current events," Jack said, shifting closer to the bearded man next to him. "who's the deceased?"
"Franz Schubert." The man replied. "Hear he was a famous musician. But honestly, I don't care. I'm the funeral director around here. As long as I get my money's worth." He leaned away, patting his full leather purse. "These services cost a fortune and I'm so happy to be dealing in them."
Elisabeth watched as the carriage disappeared into the fog and the rain. Suddenly she doubled over, clutching her temples.
"Ow," Elisabeth groaned, swaying on her feet. She kept her eyes closed, almost keeling over.
"Are you alright?" The Doctor asked, bending down.
"It'll pass. I think I need a rest."
The Doctor slung her left arm over his back and dragged her back to the TARDIS. Sighing, she leaned on the wall. She could hear the commotion, and also the sound of the Doctor attempting to get the TARDIS key back in the lock.
"Look, I'll take it from here." A breathy, feminine voice spoke. "I'll know what to do. She can rest at my house."
Elisabeth opened her eyes slightly to find a young woman speaking to the Doctor. Short, bright and radiant, but her brown hair was streaked with silver. After a moment of negotiation the woman turned to leave, and the Doctor hauled Elisabeth along again, and into a house on the side of the road. Everything was a little fuzzy to her, but the next thing she could remember was settling on a hard wooden chair, and the coolness of a wet cloth pressed against her forehead. She was passed a warm mug, and she raised it to her lips, her hand trembling. Jack took the cup from her before she could spill anything, raising it to her lips. She found instant relief when the warm, soothing tea streamed past her lips, but once she stopped to take a breath, that brief reprieve was lost. She rested for a few moments. Closing her eyes, she could hear the movement around her. The Doctor and Jack left the kitchen, and were conversing with the woman in the other room.
"Thank you for giving my friend a place to rest. She's not doing very well recently." The Doctor explained. "She needs somewhere to get away from stress. I think this'll be a good place for her."
Elisabeth could hear someone shuffle in their seat. "You're very welcome, er, sir."
"I'm the Doctor. And this is Jack. Jack and Elisabeth are my travelling companions."
"Travellers, eh?"
"That's what we do. In search for risk and adventure." Jack said, cracking his knuckles. Elisabeth grimaced, her head pounding with every snap.
"You seem like a very daring person, Jack." The woman said, giving a slight chuckle.
Elisabeth couldn't bother listening on, instead focusing on the thoughts that washed through her mind. Inwardly, she blamed herself for the incident in Beijing. She couldn't understand how - it was just an impulse of the mind. She didn't know how she had suddenly become so useless to them. After that panic attack, she felt like she couldn't function normally. She didn't feel like herself. In fact, she'd been feeling a little funny since her first adventure. Something, this little nagging voice in the back of her head was frequently telling her to do something, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She was sure it had something to do with Professor Astrad, who didn't seem quite normal to her. She swore it had to do with Androdosa, the girl that plagued her dreams. Well, nightmares. They'd been getting more vivid by the day, and she often had to wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night. The nightmares crept up on her like a shadow in the dark, reaching out to her and playing with her mind. Those voices in her head controlled her like how a puppetmaster controls its puppet.
Bring him to me and you'll be forgiven.
Elisabeth pushed the thought away. She felt that she had become better and stronger at resisting this voice. It came back to her less often, but every time it did she felt an intense terror. Her breaths would stagger and shorten, and it would feel as if a icy finger was tracing its way down her spine. Every time a certain phrase was repeated by the voice in her head she had learnt to ignore it.
But why hadn't she told the Doctor about the voices?
He'd think she'd gone crazy. Honestly, she didn't exactly know whether her mental state was a result of travelling with the Doctor, and whether it'd get worse after she would leave. No, the Doctor wouldn't understand. But to disappoint the only person she felt that she hadn't let down yet, it'd make a rather large dent in her self-esteem.
He seemed to think she had potential. After all, why had he insisted she stay when she asked to leave? There had to be a reason behind his actions. Plus, he seemed to be her only friend in the world. Home was an abstract concept to her. She had stepped onto the TARDIS in England, in the 19th century. The only cresidentials she had on her were not hers, and she had hardly any recollection of her roots. Thus, over their shared journeys, she had begun to think of him as an idea of home. A friend she could run to, a friend to rely on.
Home had never felt so far away.
Elisabeth heard the sound of footsteps approach again. "You're feeling much better already, I presume?"
She tore the cloth off her head, placing it down on the table. "Definitely better." She leaned back, crossing her arms. "You don't have to be so worried about me, Doctor. I'm fine. Just fine."
"Are you sure you're-" The Doctor furrowed his brow. "You're worried."
"There's nothing to worry about." Elisabeth forced a smile. "I mean, it's just that I want some time alone."
"Alright." The Doctor affirmed, turning back to the other woman. "Oh, I just forgot. You two haven't properly met each other. Elisabeth, this is Sofia."
Sofia stretched out a hand, and Elisabeth returned the handshake tentatively. "Nice to meet you."
"My pleasure." Sofia pressed her lips in a thin line, her countenance worrying. "Are you sure you're feeling well? I mean, your skin's a bit yellowish. You've probably got jaundice, maybe. We should probably go down to the chemist's - they've probably got something for that."
Elisabeth stopped short. "My skin has always been that colour. I'm not from here, you see."
Sofia hesitated. "I see. That's a bit-er, unusual."
The Doctor cut in. "If you're feeling fine right now, would you want to take a stroll, Elise?"
"Now?" Elisabeth looked up at him, crossing her right leg over her left. "Alone?"
"I think there are a few matters that we could discuss in private." He nodded to Sofia. "If you don't mind?"
"There's a plain just a walk down, to the south of the town. I'm sure the two of you will have some peace and quiet. It's quite a view, there."
Jack snorted. "How about me, Doctor? Leaving me out?"
The Doctor helped Elisabeth to her feet. "We won't be long, Jack."
Jack leaned on the table, watching the duo leave. "And I didn't think you'd be the romantic sort."
The Doctor whipped back, sending his shaggy hair to swing with the momentum. "Who said anything about being romantic?"
"It's something about me leaving, right?" Elisabeth asked, kicking a pebble on the path. The pebble skipped across the path until it rolled into the grass and stayed there.
"That saves me the effort of having to explain things." The Doctor sighed. "Thank you. But-"
"It'd be better if I leave." Elisabeth said. "Don't worry. I'll just stay here."
The Doctor took her by the arm. "You're really serious about leaving, aren't you?"
Elisabeth shrugged him off. "Isn't that what you've always suggested?"
He seemed desperate. "I've thought about it."
"It's what you know about me that I don't know about myself, isn't it?" Elisabeth barked. "What is it that you have to hide from me, Doctor? Don't you trust me?"
"You wouldn't understand, even if you tried. And I don't suppose you can survive here on your own, right?" The Doctor asked, prompting a response.
"I'm adaptable." Elisabeth pointed out.
"Not in your mental state, you won't."
"Are you saying I'm incapable, Doctor?" Elisabeth's voice rose. "Is that what you're saying?"
"You can't even look after yourself." The Doctor stated, and Elisabeth ignored him, walking ahead. She didn't intend to brush him off, but it seemed that it was getting seemingly harder to talk. She felt like a cold fist had closed around her heart, and her shoulders started to tremble.
The Doctor ran forward, catching up with her. "You seem a bit off. There's something you're hiding."
"You're hiding secrets of your own." Elisabeth turned away again, taking a breath.
The Doctor walked into the grass and sat down, his back facing the path. He patted the ground next to him and motioned for Elisabeth to join him. "You'll like the view."
"Oh, fine." Elisabeth reluctantly complied, taking a seat next to the Doctor.
"You're definitely not fine, I can tell."
Elisabeth nodded, spitefully. "So you're right. I shouldn't hang around anymore. I'm just going to become a burden of yours."
"You don't have to take it alone, Elise. Maybe we can find a way to alleviate your strong emotions." The Doctor suggested, tucking his knees to his chest. "I think it's better that you recover before I let you go off alone." He paused. "Besides, where would you go after you leave me?"
"I'm not certain." Elisabeth said, gripping her left shoulder with her right hand and rocking back slightly. "Maybe not here. I won't fit in here."
The Doctor furrowed his brow. "Why not?"
"My customs and skin colour would probably make it harder for me to settle here. You did how how Sofia reacted, though."
Elisabeth took a breath before asking prompting something new. "I do have a question, Doctor."
"Yes?"
"I'm just wondering - since this is Vienna, wouldn't everyone be speaking German? Why were we able to understand what Sofia was saying to us?" Elisabeth inquired. "Everything's in English."
"TARDIS translation circuits." The Doctor answered, confident. "I'm surprised you didn't ask the same thing when we were in Beijing."
Elisabeth tutted. "I can understand Chinese."
"Is that so!" The Doctor clasped his hands. "Well, that's something new I learnt about you."
"So you could be speaking Gallifreyan all this time and the TARDIS would have just translated it for me?"
"Yes," The Doctor paused, blinking hard. "Wait, I never told you about my home planet. How were you able to devrive my mother tongue from what little I've shared about myself and my background?"
Elisabeth raised a hand, stammering. "I-I've no idea. The word just popped into my mind. I don't remember reading anything about it, or anything."
The Doctor nodded subtly. "So the memory block-" He muttered.
"The memory block what?" Elisabeth reiterated. "You're telling me that this has to do with the memory block?"
"Elise, how's the storage database doing?" The Doctor's tone became more urgent.
Elisabeth protested. "What does that have to do with the memory block?"
"It's affecting something." The Doctor remarked, reaching up to brush away Elisabeth's short, spiky hair, revealing the stud at her temple. "Something about it is trying to break the memory block."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Elisabeth slapped his hand away. "Once it breaks through I'll be able to remember who I am."
"Knowledge is power, Elise." The Doctor sighed, turning back to face the lush, green forest in front of them. "And there are some things that us time travellers can't know at some points in time."
"Quit trying to beat around the bush." Elisabeth nudged the Doctor with her shoe. "I can't be kept in the dark forever, you know."
The Doctor turned, making eye contact with her. "You know, being reckless and stubborn isn't going to get you anywhere." He chided. "I'm just saying, there's a time for everything."
Elisabeth hung her head. "You win, then."
"No, something's not right." The Doctor firmly replied, taking Elisabeth by the shoulders. "You're anxious, aren't you?"
Elisabeth looked away, biting her lip. "I'm scared."
"Of what?"
"Myself." Elisabeth pronounced the word with much venom and self loathing. "Travelling with you has perhaps brought out the nastier side in me. My recklessness will be the death of me one day."
"Exactly. And I'll make sure that doesn't happen." The Doctor affirmed. "The world's a dangerous place for you and me. We face many enemies, and the path to surviving isn't always easy."
"I've caused too many deaths. The Underground, and later Beijing-" Elisabeth cried, clapping a hand over her mouth, cutting herself off.
"They weren't your fault." The Doctor's fingers closed over Elisabeth's wrist, dragging her hand away. "I wish there was another way sometimes."
"If only I hadn't blanked out when I shot that bloody Dalek!" Elisabeth gave a yelp of frustration and pain. "It was so damn terrifying. I had no idea what I was doing and I knew something was very off. I had nightmares."
"About the Daleks?" The Doctor spoke, gentler this time.
"I've got a hidden past I don't know about. And I'm scared about it."
"I'm scared of myself sometimes. Some days I just look back on the things that I've done and realise what a horrible person I've been. I've lost friends like you and I don't think I could ever forgive myself for some of those deaths."
Elisabeth shook her head. "You're different, Doctor. You don't break down in the face of danger."
A brief silence. "Elisabeth, is it the travelling that distresses you? That's a perfectly valid reason to leave, I'll-"
"It isn't the travelling, I swear. It's all the thinking I do afterwards." Elisabeth sniffed. "But I do love travelling around, and I'd really want to see more of the universe. I don't think I could ever satisfy that curiosity here on Earth."
"And I'll try to keep us out of danger. Er, as much as I can help it." The Doctor beamed, hoping to lift Elisabeth's spirits.
Elisabeth returned the smile - a thin one, but still a smile nonetheless. "Thanks."
The Doctor took his hands off her shoulders, stuffing them in his pockets. "I think it's time we head back. Jack and Sofia are waiting for us. I don't know where Jack had the idea that we were-" The Doctor stopped short. "Wait, you don't feel that way towards me, do you?"
Elisabeth gave a slight cough. "I'm honestly not sure, Doctor. With everything that's going through my mind in the past few days I haven't had time to think about this. Maybe give me a few days to come with an answer to that question, would you?"
The Doctor scratched an itch at the back of his neck. "Take as long as you want, then. It's your mind, after all."
The sky seemed to darken further, and Elisabeth could hear the distant rolling of the thunder. It sounded like a deep bass drum. Her bones seemed to rumble, and she shivered.
"Storm's coming," Elisabeth remarked, brushing her hair out of her face.
The Doctor stopped, a confused expression on his face. "It's not just the weather. Don't you sense something, Elisabeth?"
Elisabeth took a breath. "It's colder. There's something looming about–and it can't be good." She blurted, and froze inwardly. The feeling just was there. She didn't know how to explain it, but the town just seemed just a bit quieter.
"Death," The Doctor proclaimed, a little sternly. "We're fairly close to a cemetery. But not the one Franz Schubert was, or rather is, going to be buried in. He's buried in the Central Cemetery, at the city centre."
"You can sense it?"
"Time Lords and perhaps other species have the ability of feeling telepathic signals."
Elisabeth rolled her eyes. "I guess we humans might call it instinct instead."
"It's more than that."
The sky rumbled again, and the duo moved on. After a few streets, Elisabeth spotted a small crowd at the side of a road, pouring over something. The Doctor slipped his hand into hers and pulled towards the crowd. "Something's going on, and I don't like it."
"There's someone on the ground!" Elisabeth whispered, peering through the crowds. The Doctor bent down, and squinted. "Yes, indeed." He stepped into the crowd, politely informing individuals to step aside.
"I'm a doctor," He claimed, bending down. He probed at the man's neck but found no pulse, shaking his head in despair. The deceased was a man in his late forties, with an extremely prominent nose and tiny hands. His skin was the colour of milk, and his lips were tainted purple.
The Doctor tilted his head to the side, staring at the man's ghost-like complexion. "He's been dead for not long now, maybe half an hour. Cause of death: it misses me, but I'm willing to guess it's not natural."
Elisabeth wanted to look away, but she couldn't help but feel drawn to the scene in front of her. She knelt, examining the skin on the man's hands. "Maybe you'd like to flip him over? We might find more that way."
"I have a feeling there's something on the back of his neck. I might know just what it is, but such cases are rare." With the help of a man from the crowd, the Doctor and he flipped the corpse onto its back. There it was, clear as day - black markings on the back of the corpse's neck. Three black rectangles, in a row. Next to each other. The Doctor took a swipe at the markings with his finger. "It can't be removed easily. Something like ink, or a tattoo, perhaps." The Doctor stood, clasping his hands behind his back. He bowed his head, taking a moment to think. "I am very sorry for your loss."
The Doctor took in a breath, dashing his tongue over his lower lip as he contemplated his next words. "Was anyone with him when he died, by any chance?"
"No, nobody! But we were nearby and we saw such a horrible sight! A moving shadow creeped past, I swear! Scared the daylights out of me." A woman's voice piped up from the crowd.
The Doctor rested his chin on his knuckles. "Then it must have been the shadow, then. I know what happened - we just need to know who caused it."
"Must've been the devil!" Another shout from the crowd.
"It could be," The Doctor sighed. "We may never know."