I don't own Doctor Who or Anne Of Green Gables
Orphans Left On A Trainside
The syringeful sunlight calmly blissed the train station at Prince Edwards island in 1860. The telegraph officer frustratingly fiddling over papers and documents in his small office. A store owner and train conductor's argument could be heard from a corner. If one could hear the feud most likely stemmed about the loss of stock for the merchants store.
One simple story taking after the other. Various persons striding and passing around like nimble ants on a mole hill. Trusting their instincts and pathways in life. Allowing their own narrations of the world to guide them through the course of their exitance but never once blinking to an alternative narrative.
For Anne Shirly. Her life had been quite literally a collection of alternative narratives of late. None of them viewed happily. At least not in the world she viewed outside the pages of her books.
The elven year old red haired freckled girl wearing a worn out beach hat and a standard grey flock dress gradually kicking her booted feet as she sited on the train stations' porch. Her mind musing of the new adventure she would be taking on within this new land called Avonlea.
Such a strange and odourful life she had lived before coming into this station. Waiting the last eleven years for such a grand adventure like this. Her miserable days in the orphanages and the Hammond's could finally be put to rest. She just wished she had a mirror so her imaginary bosom friend Katie Maurice could accompany her on this thrilling journey. After all it is always horrible for to venture into the world by yourself. Journeys always were so much more magically if done in two's or better threes. A companion by one's side always brought a beautiful light into a legendary story. Lancelot and Guinevere's quests were true examples of such a statement in Anne's humble opinion.
"The stuff of legends." The young girl chirpily told herself.
"indeed." A sterned but youthful voice replied to her query.
Anne gasped and embarrassingly blushed by the newcomers entry. In front of the young lady. A skinny man in his forty's with spikey slushed brown hair. Brushy eyes brows and slick side brins. His attire included a white button-up shirt, with a tie, a loose fitting brown tartan waistcoat and matching trousers. He also wore a navy blue trench coat and Converse shoes Anne concluded must have belonged to a cricket company.
The man's face though. Was the most bizarre thing Anne felt about the man. He looked so young yet the staggering ailments of old age shrouded his eyes. Coursing with the ligaments of his pupils. An infinite tapestry of history surged throughout his personal view.
He unnerved her.
Anne with an E was no fool to such men. Her time and experience with Mr Hammond's drunken outbursts was an very unfortunate life lesson with such cross bearing adults. The unwelcoming disaffected coldness discharging from such men always drowned Anne in sorrow.
Yet she found herself unable to deter away from the brooding stranger. A pulsing wave passed between the two lost souls on this certain platform. Keeping Anne magnetized next to the stranger. Reassuring her through the concerning compounds she still maintained.
The man strongly ruffle rubbed his eyes. Looking confused and empty headed afterwards. Looking less of a dominating outcast and more of a child. Trying to almost make sense and understand what was before him and where he needed to go.
Anne knew she wasn't the smartest girl in the world. She always could remember the annoyed quips by her dismayed former carers about her constant prattling or her melodramatic pronunciations. But with this man she found herself requesting to ask.
"Are you well sir?"
The man in a lighting swish turned around his head to face her. His expression a merger of inquisitiveness and mystification. Anne could have sworn the man almost jumped out of his skin by her question.. As if someone like her talking to someone such as himself was an unearthly proclamation. A fixture which didn't match the tone or ideals he believed in.
"I am…..very well…. Good….good very good…. thank you….. em." The man stuttering tried to answer. Rather it seemed the strange adult would blabber on until he found an answer he could be personally satisfied with regardless how simplistic the query was.
"Ehhh Anne Shirly sir." Anne unsurely answered.
"Anne with a E." The stranger responded.
Anne's eyes widened with a shock. None ever knew such a sacred detail about her from the get go. Often she needed to remind the more sullen adults about the true lettering of her name. Yes Anne may not be as lovely as Cordilla, or Lucy or perhaps Rose. To have such a name like Rose. Anne would often a wonderfully imagine a world where she was named Rose Shirly. Such a beautiful name to have. Oh how she craved to have such a desirable name.
The young girl swiped her head. Returning back to her next question "May I ask how you came to know my actual name sir?" She quizzed slightly more overdramatically then she wished.
"Well you look like an Anne with an E miss. The E was written on your face. Only a special kind of person can see such a magic letter." The strange man concluded.
Anne didn't wish to admit it but she was very pleased with the answer. How the stranger said two of her most absolute beloved words in the world. 'Magic' and 'Special'. A nice tingling sensation waved through her.
Afterall it was her true language.
looked at the worn out book sitting peacefully on her knees "Lancelot and Gwenevere."
Anne turned to look down at her damaged book "Oh yes sir." She excitedly responded "Their love story is my absolute favourite fable in the entire world. Don't misunderstand me I adore King Arthur and his amazing tales about Camelot but Sir Lancelot. A lonely reserved shadow fighting for truth and justice but at an arm's length. Closed off from feeling of joy until finding a fair maiden finally freeing him from his chains of loneliness."
"Yeah that's Lancelot for you." The man agreed "When I met him back when I had the scarf? Or was it when I had the clown tent coat or perhaps the bow tie? Either way he had the whole Batman gimmick going for him. Misunderstood bad boy falling for the girl next door. Well he wasn't really a bad boy. He was a soft touch once you got to know him. Apparently he liked knitting. Made Percival a teddy bear for his 30th. Told me as much when he were looking for the holy grail."
Anne blinked astoundingly. She knew the man was a tad strange but now this was far to faithful. In true extensity Anne despite only receiving three replies from her co sitter. She somehow found herself talking to someone who was well like her. The same overtalking and fantastical way of language. While she couldn't approve of his slang or understand what this Batman charter was. She did like the similarity of language and strange sense of imagination.
"I sometimes also like to pretend I met Sir Lancelot. When I am walking through an Autumm forest I sometimes believe he will come out from the corner in his silvery black eagled armour mounted on his white stallion. Giving me a humble nod."
"He actually wore blue rubied lion armour." The man answered. Anne faced him a little fazed. Feeling a momentarily sense of guilt of running the young ladies imagined description of her treasured hero "At least that is how I sometimes like to see him as. Black armour probably suits him better to be honest."
Anne smiled understanding her new friend was trying keep on her good side. "If I may ask sir. I don't believe I received your name. However if you wish not to answer I…."
"I'm called the Doctor Anne with an E." He stated solemnly. A cooled stiffed response if Anne ever heard one.
"Doctor who? Sir?" Anne bravely asked.
The Doctor giggled sadly bowing his head down onto his hands. "You know recently I have been asking myself the same question. More so when I gained or perhaps re gained this face."
"This face?" Anne's nervousness about the stranger unfortunately retaking hold of her senses.
"Sorry. When you get old as me. Age really does make you look like someone else. When I was a child I was so grumpy. People thought I was grandfather with my attitude back then." He laughed to himself "I still remember Ian annoying me with his homesickness. How he never punched me is still a miracle"
"Ian. Was he a friend of yours."
"Oh yes. I had a lot of friends in my life Anne. Ian, Jaimie, Liz, Romana, Adric, Peri, Hex, Charley, Tara, Gabby, Amy, Bill and Yas. Oh Yas what she say if she saw me in such a sate."
"Where they your bosom friends." Anne sympathized with the man. This was another trait they had in common this Doctor person. The hatred of being lonely. Desperately trying to have routes of her own and grow up and live like any woman should do. No regrets, no tears and no anxiety's. Having the luxury to live a lifetime with the bliss of companionship and friendship.
A lesson she already knew the Doctor had learnt. More times than he cared to admit.
After a few quitted moments. Both persons hearing the backgrounded soundly interferences path right through them. The shunting of the rail carts and whistle's by the fat controllers. An eternity of meaningless sided around them.
"Could I tell you a story Anne." The Doctor patiently.
"If you wish sir." Anne agreed. Compelled to follow the man's fancy. She didn't know how to explain the situation but she felt somehow responsible for this confused creature beside her. The normality within her screamed her to run away for her own personal safety but her heart for some reason told her she needed to listen and care for the story she was too hear.
"Once upon a time. There was an artist. A lord, a lord of time itself. A man who could repeat his entire life thirteen times. A gentle painter, doing his duties within his lives. No matter how many times he changed he always kept with his painting. The joy he allowed to divine him."
"He did marry. He did have two children. A nimble boy and a girl with a heart of gold." The Doctor almost seemed to tear at the last sentence.
"Sadly when his wife died. The man found himself lost. The muse he had to carry out his passion oohh Anne you should have seen his paintings. The most incredible pieces of art anyone could ever dream to see. Even angels couldn't paint better." The Doctor smiled feeling his breath fleeting.
But his mood turned sour once more. "The man spent his entire twelfth life hurried away in his study. Unable to think or create the dreams he saw in his mind. All lost because of the death of his first love."
"When his final life came to be. The man did something you say was spontaneous. Out of character. He stole a machine, a ship if you will. An impossible box allowing him to go where ever he wanted."
"Where did he go Doctor?" Anne crisply asked feeling a slight interest peak her.
"Believe it or not Anne he came here. Earth, Canada, Avonlea even. This man could go wherever and whenever he wanted and he chose to spec in this existence. A lonely titan sprouting with mortal men. Feeling the simple rare joy of being one of them."
"Suddenly an unexpected new chapter was written in the artists life." The Doctor mused silently.
"What kind of chapter Doctor?" Anne whistled wishing to know more.
"He passed a school house. Nothing like Oxford or Yale just a simple plank boarded schoolhouse hiding away in the forest. One glimpse Anne, just one glimpse through the window was all it took for him to stop."
"None of his people knew why he fell for her. A lot of them even labelled him spitefully for giving his two hearts for a woman so below his godhood but he didn't care. Somehow against all odds he found a way to love again. He took her you see. Traveling. Across time and space showing her every grain of sand in existence. From Egypt to Mars. So many wonderful adventures. So much running."
The Doctor's positive brush soured down "But like usual all good things find a way to crash down at their peak. The artist and his companion. In the mist of their uncaring." The Doctor said the last word a bit too bitterly "He impregnated her with a babe. Gaining his people's attention. You see Anne the artist. He did something so incredibly stupid."
"What was that Doctor?"
"He didn't care." The Doctor submersed. "He allowed love to dictate his actions. Not giving a dam how it would effect the people around him or the consequences they would need to reap because of him. Having a baby with a being like him. He broke the golden rule of his people."
"His people. The lords of time. They preferred to keep in the shadows. Never intertwining or fraternizing with the fates of other beings within the universe. Forever watching but never interfering. In truth they simply didn't want to cross paths with an enemy they couldn't handle." The Doctor grimly concluded.
"The Artist and his second love had broken their golden rule of secrecy. Having a human a mortal woman with a baby with one of their own. A surge of fury roamed Galifrey. The Artist begged his fellow lords to spare his wife and unborn babe. It was tricky Anne very tricky. Actually it was very terrible. In the end a conclusion finally was brokered. One which never solved anything." The Doctor disgracefully clawed his face.
Anne shouldn't have proded further. She knew she really shouldn't but she needed to know. This man was restrained. He needed someone to release him from this horrid grip. The young girl bravely clasped his palms into her small gentle hands.
Feeling her sweet touch on his blood borne hands the Doctor finally gained the grips to finish off his tale. "The woman, she was allowed to stay in this world of Gods and time until their baby was born. Both persons including the artists previous children were all placed under house arrest. Once the baby was finally born. The woman was snatched away from her child. She didn't even have a moment to hold him. The Time Lords. They had created specialized machines. Horrible machines focusing on a human's entire anatomy."
The Doctor gulped deeply. Taking a hideous aqueous breath in he continued with the final lines of his tale. "They…" The Doctor snarled stiffing up his tightened gums. Trying to balance out his inner tension thanks to Anne's warm palms resting on his aged fingers.
"What did these second rate gods do to the poor woman?" Anne pursed.
"They removed her memories." The Doctor finalized snapping out the daggered toned conclusion.
Anne gasped. Her bulbed eyes widened bigger than any window shutter from the surprised shock of this tale.
"They….they removed her memories?" She had to repat the question.
The Doctor nodded snotty. "Her life beyond the stars. The life she gained with the man she loved. The baby…." The Doctor forced himself to stop.
"They baby she carried." Anne asked feeling a few strands of sadness bewitch her. "She even forgot about her own child. A innocent young filly she cared for in her womb. She was even stripped of those membered blessings?"
The Doctor nodded indifferently. "She was a mortal. A mortal only has children for mortals. Gods and mortals don't mingle in a gene pool. Two years of life and love. Erased forever. An entire lifetime lost to a dream."
Anne shook her head "But surly her loved ones must have noticed she was missing for such a long period of time."
Doctor shook his head deadpanned as he did so. "TIME TRAVEL Anne." The Doctor gravely extradited. "Two years can easily be reduced to two seconds. Via their powers."
Anne smoothly felt her grip fall away from the Doctor's hands. This was indeed a very tragic tale. Annee usually loved these type of stories not because of affection but rather the lessons on how a lost love was the worst affliction of all.
But for a child to be caught across such a conflict of hearts.
Suddenly her mind resurged back to another key aspect of this wanderer's story "Doctor! The baby, the child this teacher and artist created from their blessed union! What became of the poor babe."
The Doctor heaved a heavy sigh. Almost begging he didn't start this tale. Why couldn't he just have told her a tale about his buddy Lancelot? How he took the Knight to Venus? So much simpler than laying out this unwanted crap.
But he knew he had to keep on talking. He needed to keep the vow he made the crying boy in barn all those regenerations ago.
"He was very lonely Anne. So awfully lonely. The first years in his life was just pure abandonment. His half-sister took on the role of his mother, but his half-brother made it clear he didn't want to know. He didn't hate his younger brother but he didn't see the point in loving him. For his farther….well his farther and him despite living in the same home couldn't be anymore estranged. Not once they shared a word. His farther, all time painted. Painting and painting pictures in his room for thousands of years until his death…the boy found solace in a barnyard. A Valeyard crying out his tears in his barnyard living in a world which didn't want him."
Now Anne couldn't stop thee tears from leaving her eyes. The streams coursed downsides her gawked mouth. Why had fate cursed her with this tale. A story she would never be able to unhear. That poor little boy. Crying and whimpering madly, clutching his ragged white blanket for some minimal comfort. Praying and begging to any divine being to free him from the entrapment which was his life.
He sounded like herself.
Anne believed this was the real reason why she lunged so much to this tragic serenade. Hearing the story of this lonely god. Made her recount her own lonely upbringing. The parents she never knew. The guardians who made it clear they hated her. She despised such tales. This unjust punishments brought onto an innocent youth just for merely existing.
Now that was true tragedy.
"The boy grew up." The Doctor returned to his story unnoting of Anne's distress. "He married, had a kid who grew up and had his own kid. He soon became a full blooded lord of time. The regeneration…I mean the first re-embodiment he had." The Doctor corrected himself. Needed to care of science stuff. Not the time period for such advanced knowledge.
"He found…he found such a family Anne. So many wonderful and amazing people. A full verity of happiness, adventure and running. Lots and lots of wonderful running. The son he started out as could be laid to rest but the grandfather he grew into. He finally found the solution to nurse his loneliness."
"How so sir?" Anne noticed on station's side road a old man in a green country suit and grey bowl cap. Sporting a kindly elderly face and white moustache. The man pulled into the station with a basic brown horse and simple cart.
Anne's focus shifted onto the new comer. She didn't want to leave her new friend the Doctor but she could feel her heart being drawn to the old man by the roadside. Her pupils magnetized uncontrollably to the new player in this games of lost souls.
The Doctor seemed to get wind of Anne's new attraction. A sweet smiled flashed across his lips. Feeling the nice spring warmth relax his nerves.
Understanding he no longer was needed on the platform. The Doctor got up and began to make his way to his trusted Tardis.
The strangers footsteps brought Anne back to her fixation on the exemplified trans fixation. "Wait!" Anne preached desperately snatching his hand. The Doctor turned around to face her. Looking less like a man and more of a tired child waiting for orders from his teacher.
"You Didn't tell me the solution?" Anne preached. "You didn't tell me how the grandfather defeated his loneliness. Please Doctor if we are never going to see each other again. You built up my feelings from this sorrowful tale you owe me an answer."
A few seconds passed between the two adventurers. Eternal winds breezed through their hairs and cloths. The Doctor leaned his chest down in order to whisper into Anne's ear. Yet before a single a letter left his lips the Time Lord stopped. "No."
The Doctor cheekily grinned before getting back up "No. I don't think I will tell you Anne." Anne was dismayed but the Doctor didn't care. He knew it would be cheating if he gave her the answer before her time. "though….." The Doctor pupily muttered "I think you will be more than equipped to find that solution yourself. Anne Shirly."
Anne was about to respond before the station officer called out her name. Anner swiftly turned around to the nice old man with him waving his hand towards her. It would seem her direct journey to Green Gables was upon her.
"You should stick to him Anne." The Doctor stated. "He looks sturdy enough to be a decent companion for you. Come to think of it he does look a tad but like my old grandad to be honest." The Doctor aimlessly sprouted.
"Beg pardon?" Anne asked turning back around but only to find the Doctor had wholly vanished. Not a trace of her strange friend to be found. Anne sighed sadly. The Doctor may have been a quirky character but he none the less proved to be a true bosom friend in the small time she was with him.
She hopped he would be okay wherever he was going to. Whatever adventures he was to go fourth in.
She so hoped for this wondering son.
The Side Of The Station
The Doctor carefully leaned behind a corner of the station's wooden shed. Watching as Mathew took Anne and her suitcase onto his cart and whipped the horse to take the pair to Avonlea and eventually Green Gables.
"Amy really would have liked you." The Doctor concluded. "So would have Tegan, Hex, Sarah Jane and well all of them."
"I just sorry you didn't have a chance to see Jenny, Susan and Alex. For that I am sorry. I am so sorry" The Doctor mused sadly walking to the blue police phone box he so deeply cared for. "For now though. I can't let you go where I am heading." The Doctor peeked into the console room which belonged to his previous female self.
Feeling the grizzly shaven chore and familiar teeth. The Doctor frowned "I don't know what has happened with this regeneration. Why this body chose this face. This reuse of my tenth self's appearance means something. Something not good." The Doctor frowned before looking back to the station.
Matthew's wagon was gone. Anne was gone. The first and last time the Doctor would probably see her. He hoped his past and even future incarnations would understand. He was sorry they would not have the luxury he just experienced but ever since he regained this former face. An unbridling fear enticed him. A fear. Only someone like her cold ever put him at ease with.
. One final gentle grin crossed his lips. She was going to have so many adventures. Meet so many wonderful people. The Doctor would have been jealous but he could never ever be jealous of her. Even when she would meet his farther.
The Doctor caught a snuffle of his spiked hair "Still not ginger yet hey? Mum." The Doctor called out.
