Raelyn flopped onto her bed tired from the tour the Doctor had given her. She honestly had no idea that the TARDIS contained so much cool stuff! She honestly couldn't wait to explore more of it tomorrow. And the Time Lord had admitted to her that there was so much more to see. Thankfully she hadn't seen Rose at all so she avoided having an awkward conversation with the blonde about the two of them travelling with the Doctor.
She rolled over onto her back, a sleepy smile working its way onto her face as she stared up at the very familiar ceiling. She was amazed that the TARDIS had made the bedroom that she had at the house. It was a literal copy, right down to the constellations she'd painted on the ceiling. Though the ship's version seemed to twinkle like the actual night sky. She kinda preferred it actually as it was rather calming. The brunette flicked off the light, closed her eyes and fell asleep.
The 19 year old woke up when she heard a child's giggle in her ear. Raelyn reached over and flipped on the light. By the doorway was a little girl of about 5 to 7 years old with short blonde hair. Before she could do anything, the girl turned and walked through her door. She scrambled out of bed and hurried out into the corridor.
The girl beckoned for her to follow and the brunette did so. Raelyn followed her for a few minutes until they stopped by a door that had a symbol engraved in gold on it. "This is the beginning", she said, mysteriously.
"Beginning of what?" the violet eyed teen asked, confused.
"Everything", the girl replied "go in". Raelyn placed her hand on the door and golden light emanated from it, flooded her vision.
The 19 year old gasped awake, sitting up in bed. That was a weird dream she thought, rubbing her face. She got out of bed and padded over to her adjoining bathroom. She turned on the tap and splashed water over her face. Raelyn watched the mirror steam up before she traced the symbol that she saw on the door. She stared at it for a moment before she uttered the word… "Naiyah".
It was about an hour or so later when she strolled into the kitchen and discovered Doctor sitting at the table with a mug of tea. But he wasn't drinking it, he seemed to be too engrossed with whatever was in his hand. In fact he didn't even realise she was there until she sat down at the table.
"Oh, hi Raelyn. Sleep well?" the Time Lord asked looking up at the brunette.
"Yeah I did", Raelyn replied "are you ok?" she questioned.
"I'm fine", the Doctor answered. The brunette didn't believe him. But she wasn't going to make him talk about whatever was distracting him. It wasn't any of her business. Instead she decided to change the subject.
"Whatcha got there?" she enquired, nodding at the item in his hands.
"Just a little something from my home", the Time Lord replied, showing her.
"It's lovely", 19 year old remarked, looking at the gold locket "Can I…?" she gestured to it.
"Sure", the Doctor said and handed it over.
Raelyn looked at the locket in her hands and was rather surprised to see the same pattern on it that was on the door. She slowly traced it, the Time Lord watching with this mild curiosity. Then she said a name which made his eyes widen and his twin hearts skip a beat.
"Naiyah"
How...How did she know that name? Given that she was a human, the Gallifreyan on the locket wouldn't have made any sense to her. And the TARDIS doesn't translate that language anyway. So how does she know the name of the Time Lady that he'd held most dearest to his hearts? Unless it was because of how the piece of jewellery had reacted to the young woman before. Whatever the case may be, Raelyn was becoming more intriguing by the minute.
"I'm so sorry I don't know what came over me", Raelyn suddenly said, breaking the Doctor out of his thoughts. She quickly gave the locket back. "I'm gonna get some tea. Would you like some?" the brunette asked, already rising to do so.
"Sure", the Doctor said. The brunette took his mug and went over to the kettle. He watched her make the tea for a bit before he spoke up. "Why did you say that name?"
Raelyn extracted the tea bags from the mugs before turning to him "I haven't a clue", she admits "I was just tracing that engraving and the name popped into my head", she explained. That was a little bit of a lie. She'd gotten the name from the dream she had but she wasn't quite sure how to explain it without sounding like a complete nutter. The brunette turned back to the mugs and added the milk. "It's weird", she continued, picking up the mugs "But when I was holding it, I got this sense of familiarity".
"Like you'd seen it before?" the Doctor asked.
"No, it was more than that", Raelyn replied walking over the table and setting the mugs down "This may sound crazy but it felt like the locket belonged to me", she added, sitting down. The piece of jewellery just felt so right in her hands, like it belonged there.
"You feel like it belongs to you", the Time Lord repeated, taking a note of everything she said.
"Yeah...but like I said that's completely crazy", the teenager laughed.
"Oh I dunno", the Doctor started, fiddling with the locket "I've heard stranger in my travels". He glanced down at it and then back up at the 19 year old.
"Let her hold onto it", Naiyah suggested "it'll help you to learn why she thinks it 'belonged' to her".
The Doctor hesitated. Normally he wouldn't dare part with the only link he had to his best friend but since Naiyah suggested it, he could temporarily lend it to Raelyn and see what happens. "How about you hold onto it for a bit?"
"Doctor I-I couldn't. It belongs to one of your people...it wouldn't be right", she said, hastily declining.
"Raelyn I want you to hold onto it", the Doctor insisted, holding it out to her "please".
The brunette took it from him. "It wouldn't be too weird if I...wore it?" she asked.
"Not at all", the Doctor answered. Raelyn unclasped the chain, put it around her neck and secured it.
"I won't lose this", she promised, touching the locket.
"I know", the Time Lord said.
"You know… I'm going to do a little bit of drawing", Raelyn spoke up after a moment "will you be ok?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine", the Doctor assured her "whenever you're ready to get going, just tell the TARDIS and she'll tell me".
"Will do", Raelyn said, getting up. The Time Lord watched her leave the kitchen with her mug of tea.
"Are you ok with her wearing it?" he enquired to the spectre of his best friend.
"I would've protested if I weren't alright with it", the Time Lady pointed out "besides, I'm just as intrigued to see how this whole thing unfolds".
Meanwhile, the brunette in question strolled along the corridor, more focused on the locket in her hands than on where she was going. That is until she bumped into someone. "Oh I'm so…" the 19 year old slowly looked up to see Rose standing there with an outraged expression on her face "you're the other companion?!" she exclaimed.
"I am", Raelyn confirmed, taking a step back.
"This…this isn't fair! An amazing opportunity ruined cos of you", the blonde spat.
"Hey, I'm not so jazzed about being around you either", the violet eyed teen shot back "but I think we could at least be civil whilst in front of the Doctor".
"I have a better idea, ask him to take you home", Rose ordered.
Raelyn raised her brows at her impertinence "Yeah…no…I don't think I will", she said firmly.
"Do it", the blonde growled, getting right in her face, jostling her mug of tea, ignoring the warning hum that resonated through the air "he doesn't need you hanging around, staring at him with those…those freaky eyes of yours" she poked Raelyn in the shoulder. The brunette just stared back at her, fighting the urge to dump her tea over her head. She'd heard that insult before and very similar ones from her father of all people. In fact he made so many snide comments about her that Sarah Jane actually threw him out of the house. The best move she ever made since they were way happier being a family of two. Correction…four if she counted their metal doggy companion, K9 and her girl, Valerie.
"One trip", Raelyn managed to say, keeping her voice as calm as possible "I'll have one trip and then I'll leave". Rose nods, seemingly appeased by her words. The brunette watched her leave, shaking her head. "I really don't like her", she mumbled. She wasn't too keen on the lying thing but she only did it to get Rose to back off and give her a little breathing room for a day. She didn't need to be a psychic to know that the next conversation with the blonde was going to be much worse. Oh well…no need to worry about it now she thought. "It's a good thing Mels isn't here", Raelyn said to herself as she started to walk again "she'd kick her ass" the brunette paused "actually, that wouldn't have been such a bad thing", she added.
The TARDIS let out a noise sounding almost like a chuckle, making the brunette cast a glance at the ceiling. One of the things the Doctor had mentioned during the tour was that the ship was sentient. Something that was definitely becoming clear in the short amount of time that she'd been onboard. "Yeah, you and Mels would probably get along like a house on fire", she remarked with a smile "which'll spell chaos for the rest of us. Not that I really care mind you. Keeps life from getting boring".
A few hours later saw Raelyn venturing out of her room, a smudge of blue chalk on the side of her nose. She was about to tell the TARDIS she was ready to head out to see the universe when she heard a child giggling behind her. The brunette turned to see the blonde haired girl from her dream.
Just like in her dream, the child led her to the very same door, right down to the engraving. "This is so weird", the 19 year old murmured reaching up and lightly touching the circular pattern "I literally dreamt about this" she glanced at the girl "and about you".
"Well we are linked Rae", the blonde told her "That's why you had the dream AND why you're now wearing my locket". Raelyn looked down it and then back at her.
"Y-you're Naiyah?" she stammered.
The young Time Lady nodded "indeed I am", she confirmed "now are you gonna go in or stand here staring at the door?"
"The last time you said that, I touched the door and there was a bright light and I woke up", Raelyn reminded her.
"You'll be able to this time", Naiyah assured her.
"Alright", the brunette said. She took a breath and pushed open the door. Inside the room were several book pedestals, 13 on them to be exact. All of them were empty except one. The closest one rested a book with a bright red cover and was titled Primis. "Primis", the 19 year old murmured tracing the lettering "First".
"This is mine", Naiyah told her "It has everything in it from the day I was born to the day I regenerated".
"Why are you showing it to me?" Raelyn asked.
"Like I said outside, you and I are connected", Naiyah replied. She opened up the book and the pages flicked through until they stopped on a moving illustration of a blonde haired child looking into what appeared to be a swirling kaleidoscope of lights. "When I was 8…"
"Hold on…you're 8? You don't look it", the 19 year old remarked, eyeing the girl.
"Well, I've been told I look young for my age", the Time Lady said, not that phased by her comment "anyway, I brought in front of the Untempered Schism. Most are inspired by what they see; some run away and a few go mad. It was none of those things for me. What I saw were flashes of different women. They all had my eyes…"
"Your future selves", Raelyn guessed.
The blonde nods "That's exactly what they were. Then I saw something else after my final body. I saw you" the page flipped over and it was like 19 year old was seeing snapshots of her past. The day she was born. The day her mother had taken her to the park for the very first time and she'd tried out the swings. There was also her first meeting with the Doctor and their conversation which ended up with her being given the locket now around her neck.
"Oh my…" Raelyn breathed, stepping back.
"I know it's a lot for you to take in at once", the Time Lady said touching her arm.
"Yeah…just a little", the violet eyed teen admitted.
"I'm sorry. I had to show you, it was time", Naiyah explained.
"I just don't understand. Why me?" Raelyn pressed "what makes me so special?"
The Time Lady shrugged "I'm afraid I don't know", she confessed "I didn't get very far into my research before I fell ill and was forced to regenerate. My future selves can give you more answers". She gestured around to the empty pedestals.
"But there's nothing there", the brunette pointed out.
"There's nothing there for the moment", Naiyah corrected "when it is time, the others will appear to you. In the meantime, you'll be seeing a lot more of me", she promised "And I can help you during your travels with the Doctor".
Raelyn smiled "Thanks" she took a breath "well, as much as this was one confusing yet enlightening conversation but I better go find the Doctor. Kinda want to see what the universe has to offer".
Naiyah grinned "you're gonna love it", she assured her. the two of them left the room and door vanished.
"The Doctor doesn't know the room exists?" teenager asked.
"Nope. That's a secret just between us girls", Naiyah replied before she too disappeared. Raelyn smiled to herself and started toward the console room.
