Chapter 11
The Deserter And The Vampire.
Drannor was now tucked into the bed in the medical room of the Tardis. "I swear I spend more time in here than I do anywhere else. " He grumbled and then sneezed loudly.
The Doctor had insisted on doing scans on Drannor once they had picked up Jack. "It's because you're so hazard-prone, you're worse than Rose." The Doctor spoke back as his eyes ran over the scans of Drannor's body.
"So Doctor what's wrong with me?" Drannor looked at the Doctor.
"Well, you've got a cold but not just that, that doesn't explain your body not healing. You're low on energy, that's why you've got a cold and why you can't heal normally. Your body can't keep up." The Doctor said as he looked away from the scans.
"But I've been sleeping my normal amount and probably eating more than I have before." Drannor coughed and then The Doctor quickly gave him a tissue to sneeze into. "I didn't think elves could get colds."
The Doctor frowned softly. "But you have, I know you may not want to, but we may have to visit your planet to find out more about what is happening to you. Have you got any illnesses in the family?"
Drannor shook his head. "Not that I know of..." He trailed off in thought. "I think I have an idea of why my body is struggling. My parents can both cast magic but if they use too much they get sick like this after a few days if they don't go to the temple of the moon."
"But you've not been doing magic have you?" The Doctor asked and then Drannor got a bit of a guilty look on his face.
"I've dabbled a little...Your food isn't sweet enough, so I've been dabbling with a sweetness spell...and I also may have cursed a few people before you rescued me." Drannor spoke quickly.
The Doctor rubbed his head then. "You know, you could have just asked for sugar to make things sweeter?"
"Well, I didn't want to insult yours or Rose's cooking by asking for sugar." He played with his hands, saying it out loud made him realize how silly he was being, then he realized that The Doctor was more focused on the sweetening spell than the fact he'd been casting curses. "Why are you mad about that, but not about the curses?"
"I can't exactly blame you for using some curses on the people that were hurting you, especially given the situation that you were in. But the sugar one, that was just you being thick." The Doctor said the last part teasingly and Drannor let out a chuckle as he smiled at The Doctor.
"I suppose that I was being silly. I'll ask for sugar in the future." He teased.
The Doctor nodded "Good, Right we'll have a break. Probably a day then we'll be going back to your homeworld, I'll probably skip forward a few centuries so that we don't get arrested." That was part of the reason but The Doctor also wanted to see if the planet progressed at all over a few centuries. Even a wheel spokes being invented would have impressed him at this point.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Drannor stood just outside of The Tardis. He had a thick wool cloak covering him up from the bitter cold and snow. And to also help keep his face hidden. It was unlikely that he'd be recognized since The Doctor had taken them to a different part of the planet, a part where it was almost always winter. But Drannor didn't want to take the risk of being recognized, they were 300 years in the future but elves lived a very long time and held even longer grudges.
The Doctor came out of the Tardis, for once he'd changed his outfit. He was now wearing a long brown coat paired with an unreasonably long rainbow scarf wrapped tightly around his neck and covering the bottom half of his face and ears, even with his advanced time lord biology it was freezing here, so much so that even Rose and Jack wearing thick winter gear took one step out of the Tardis then immediately went back inside.
Drannor looked up at him some amusement on his face. "Nice scarf, very fun."
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Shut it, it's the only one I've got and right now I'd rather look stupid and be warm." He took hold of Drannor's hand which was covered in a black mitten. "Mittens? You can't mock my scarf whilst wearing them, there are gloves in the Tardis you know."
Drannor pouted. "I like mittens, they're comfy and warmer. Also, they look rather cute I think."
"Cute? you're having a laugh, aren't you? Mittens are like the Crocs of gloves." The Doctor said raising his eyebrow at Drannor.
"Jack and Rose think they look cute...and what do mittens have to do with crocodiles?" He asked as he started to walk with The Doctor. The snow crunched under their feet as they walked between two stone buildings that the Tardis was parked in-between and they came out onto a main street.
"No not the animal, the shoe...I'll show you when we're back on Earth in Rose's timeline." The Doctor spoke as he looked around getting rather excited when he saw a cart with wooden spoked wheels. "Ha, finally some advancement, not much and not nearly enough but it's there. Brilliant."
Drannor nodded and frowned softly. "I forgot how much the cities here stink. I wish we had plumbing here." He said as he stepped around a suspicious pile of yellow slush that was under someone's window.
"Don't worry, we'll be at the temple soon. We'll pop in and recharge you, then we can pop off again." The Doctor smiled down at Drannor and pointed in the distance at a snow-covered stone temple, it had large glass-stained windows and high peaks jutting into the sky, it was taller than any other building in the city.
"Can we go into a Tavern before we leave? I miss the food and mead." Drannor asked and The Doctor nodded.
"If you're good and don't wander off." He squeezed Drannnor's hand as he teased. Suddenly a tall person in a deep red cloak shoved past Drannor, causing the elf to slip. The Doctor quickly caught him as his hood fell down. The Doctor watched as the person in the red cloak looked back at Drannor before heading around a corner. Something about that person made The Doctor very uneasy, but he couldn't put his finger on it and it was just a feeling.
"Good to know the people haven't changed, probably trying to pickpocket me, unfortunately for them I don't have anything." The elf grumbled as he pulled his hood back up.
The Doctor hummed in agreement although he wasn't really listening, he put a protective arm around Drannor's shoulders as they made their way to the temple doors. The Doctor was about to walk in following Drannor, but an elven priestess in bright white furs and glistening blue jewels stopped him. "No humans, you will have to wait."
"But I'm not human." He went to walk past the priestess but she stopped him again by stepping in his way. "Elves only."
Drannor looked back apologetically at The Doctor. "Sorry, why don't you wait for me in the tavern across the road, I'll come straight over when I'm done."
"Fine, but no dilly-dallying." The Doctor said before heading off towards the tavern.
Drannor headed into the temple then, it was much warmer than the outside and was lit inside by candles. The stained glass windows along the walls that contained images of the moon god, moved on their own with magic and gave the building a soft blue hue. He pulled off his mittens stuffing them into his pocket.
It had been a very long time since he'd been in any sort of temple, he disliked them for the simple fact that his mother was obsessed with them and their religion. Drannor still believed in the gods but preferred praying on his own and since he usually never used magic, he never had to enter a moon temple to recharge.
He may not like temples but he did appreciate how beautiful it was. As he knelt in front of the altar and looked up at the statue of the moon god, he felt himself growing stronger and his cold instantly disappeared. Drannor sighed in relief as he could finally breathe properly out of his nose again.
After a few minutes, he stood and made his way into one of the side rooms of the temple that was used for honoring the dead. Inside was filled with hundreds of small candles all flickering away. Some were on small shelves on the walls, others were crammed onto the table and some were on the floor.
Drannor picked up one unlit candle and then knelt again, lighting it as he prayed and thought of Thalia. He hoped that if she could hear his prayers then she would forgive him for waiting so long to light a candle for her, he promised as he set down the lit candle that he would find and visit her grave one day.
A tear fell down his cheek and he wiped it with his hand before turning around to leave, he paused in his step as the same red-cloaked person, from earlier stood in the doorway.
"Excuse me, I was just leaving," Drannor said as he approached the doorway, the red-cloaked figure blocked his way and closed the door, the door's lock sliding into place on its own.
Drannor slowly took off his cloak and held his hands in the air, one still holding onto the cloak. "Look I've got nothing on me that's worth anything, and do you really want to rob someone in a temple?" He had a feeling that this person wanted a fight and Drannor would be dammed if he let his cloak slow him down and there was always a chance that he could use it to his advantage.
The figure slowly unclasped his own cloak and let it fall to the floor. "Hello, my little Blackbird, long time no see." It was Hadir, he hadn't changed one bit apart from his eyes, they showed a darkness and cruelty that they never had before and they also looked so dark now. For the first time, Drannor regretted cursing Hadir, he felt it in his soul that he caused this.
Drannor felt sick as he stared at Hadir, he thought he was never going to see him again. He thought he was free and now he was trapped in a room with him. "Er yeah, I've been busy..." He spoke, slowly backing away towards the stacks of candles.
"Oh, I can imagine, very busy with your Doctor and all his different faces." Hadir's voice came out in a growl as he slowly started to approach Drannor. Who had no idea what Hadir meant by different faces and was too busy trying to formulate a plan to escape to question it.
"No hard feelings about the little curse I spewed... I hope." Drannor chuckled nervously.
"None at all, since you've given me the perfect opportunity to make you suffer with me," Hadir smirked and was suddenly right in front of Drannor.
Drannor could feel the Captain's breath on his face as he let out another nervous chuckle, he could feel himself shaking in fear, he had to get out. "T-that's new, teleporting, you could never do that before."
Hadir slowly stroked Drannor's cheeks as he smiled. "That's all thanks to you and that little curse of yours. I suffer incredibly but it comes with some benefits."
The elf forced himself to not flinch at the feeling of Hadir's hand on his cheek, even as the hand slowly slid down to his neck. "That's nice." He shuffled back slightly more but stopped when he could feel the heat from the candles behind him.
"And I'm going to have you suffer right by my side," Hadir whispered now sensually and nuzzled Drannor's neck.
Drannor stiffened as he felt something sharp graze against his neck. "Hadir I really am sorry but my schedule is full. Not to mention that I've sworn off dating nutters and Captains. Unfortunately for you, you're both."
Hadir laughed against Drannor's neck. "You're a lot braver than the last time we met." Suddenly Drannor felt a sharp stinging pain in his neck, a cry left him and he pushed at Hadir, but the other man wouldn't budge and all he could hear was a sickening slurping.
He could feel himself getting dizzy as Hadir's hands clasped his hips tightly. Drannor saw no way out until the smell of burning reached his nose, He glanced to the side and noticed that the cloak still grasped in his hand was being licked by flames.
Drannor quickly shoved the burning cloak against Hadir's face. it singed his own hair and one of his eyebrows but it was worth it as Hadir immediately let go of Drannor with a loud cry of pain.
"Well, goodbye! I would say it was lovely seeing you again, but I don't like to lie!" Drannor shouted as he threw the burning cloak over Hadir and made for the door. He quickly unbolted it and ran from the temple, as worshippers and priestesses saw the smoke and rushed to put out the fire.
Drannor burst into the Taven across the road causing everyone to stop and stare at him. His eyes immediately found the Doctor at the bar eating a type of pink bread. He then grabbed the Doctor by his coat and immediately started pulling him.
The Doctor stumbled off the bar stool he was sitting on and quickly talked as Drannor dragged him outside "Hey, I'm not finished, You're the one that said you wanted to come here after, why do you smell like burning?" The Doctor paused and looked at the temple that was now a roaring inferno. "Oh...Why did you set it on fire?"
"I didn't well... I suppose I did actually, but I'll tell you everything when we're back on the Tardis." Drannor sighed in relief as The Doctor stopped resisting his pulling and started to jog by his side now.
Once they got to the Tardis Drannor leaned against the door panting as he caught his breath. Luckily even without his cloak, he hadn't felt the cold due to how much adrenaline was running through him. He felt so much better just being on the Tardis, and he felt comforted due to her presence, he was sure that the Tardis was somehow calming his nerves.
"You've injured, your neck." The Doctor stated more seriously now and moved to stand in front of the panting Drannor. He pulled the collar of Drannor's shirt down. There was barely a mark there now, Drannor's healing abilities were clearly back to normal.
"I know. Doctor just please get us out of here." Drannor looked into The Doctor's eyes pleadingly.
"We don't need to go anywhere, nothing can get through those doors Drannor, Now tell me what happened, what scared you?" The Doctor gently held Drannor's cheeks in his hands.
"Captain Hadir," Drannor spoke softly and moved away from The Doctor to lean against the console. "My curse worked a bit too well and made him immortal, a bloody vampire of all things." He groaned and pressed his face into his hands before letting them drop to his sides. "This is why my parents never allowed me to practice magic."
The Doctor frowned, "Was it the person that bumped into you earlier?"
The elf gave a nod. "Had me trapped in a room, luckily I thought to take my cloak off. Ended up setting it on fire, used it to get him off me...and burnt down a temple at the same time. Oh, gods. Now I've got to worry about the wrath of the moon god too." He started to tap his foot against the metal grating of the Tardis floor. "Do you think the gods talk to each other?... I hope they don't..."
The Doctor shook his head slightly as he watched Drannor spiral into overthinking. He walked over and put his hands on Drannor's cheeks again. "Drannor, look at me." Drannnor's eyes slowly met The Doctor's face. "We won't be going back there for a long while, and I doubt your Gods are upset about one temple when there are hundreds. You did what you had to, to get out."
Drannor nodded then suddenly wrapped his arms around the Doctor's neck, hugging him tightly. "Thank you, Doctor, how do you always know what to say?"
The Doctor smiled then. "I'm old, it comes with experience, don't tell Rose I admitted that." He chuckled as Drannor nodded and laughed softly.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Drannor got himself changed and cleaned up his neck before leaving one of many Tardis bedrooms, planning to go see what Jack and Rose were up to. When he'd first been shown the room by The Doctor, it had been rather blank. Recently it had been slowly changing and filling up with different objects that were useful to him, or that he liked. For example, today when he woke up he found the black mittens on his bedside table. The Tardis was quickly becoming a home to Drannor.
He made his way to a room in the Tardis that was used as a living room, It had a big sofa, two plush chairs, and a telly, that you could watch anything in time and space on. Rose and Jack were sitting on the sofa watching a movie, well they weren't paying attention to it, too busy talking. "Room for one more?" Drannor asked.
Rose and Jack turned their head smiling. "Sure, always room for you," Jack spoke and Rose patted the spot in between her and Jack. "You weren't out long did something happen?" Rose asked.
Drannor plonked himself in between them both. "You could say that." He sighed and leaned back.
"Want to talk about it?" Rose asked and held Drannor's hand squeezing it as she gave a soft smile.
Drannor shook his head. "No, not right now. I just want something to take my mind off it."
Rose nodded in understanding then grabbed the remote, turning off the movie. "I know you like cartoons...how about a Disney movie?"
He shrugged. "No idea what one of them is. But I trust your judgment, Rose."
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Drannor should have not trusted Rose's judgment this time, the movie she had picked was called Beauty And The Beast. He enjoyed the music but as hardened of a soldier as he was, he could also be a massive softy. So ended up sobbing in Rose's arms when he thought the beast was dead and then he ended up crying more because the ending made him happy.
He was still sniffling as The Doctor walked into the room and faltered in his step. He rushed over to kneel in front of Drannor and Rose, looking at Drannor's tear-stained face. "What's happened? Did Jack say something?"
"Hey! I didn't do anything Doc, our soldier is here is just a big softy." Jack protested.
Rose nodded in agreement. "A right wuss our Legolas is." She teased.
Drannor huffed softly. "It's been a long day, also why is a cartoon so emotional? They're meant to be funny, like Bugs Bunny. I'm not a wuss it just caught me off guard."
The Doctor then looked at Rose. "What movie did you show him?"
"Er, Disney's Beauty And The Beast," Rose replied.
The Doctor sighed. "With the state he's in I thought you'd shown him, As The Wind Blows or The Fox And The Hound...Right no more Disney movies, not until he's got over this one anyway."
"What's As The Wind Blows?" Drannor asked and The Doctor noticed Rose and Jack look at each other with mischievous expressions.
The Doctor pointed his finger at them. "Absolutely not, you're not showing him that!" He'd had seen the horror on Drannor's face when he taught him about nuclear weapons, he was certain that Drannor wouldn't handle a cartoon about a sweet old couple dying from radiation poisoning after a nuclear blast.
"But it's a classic, they still show it in the 51st-century Doctor." Jack protested. "Rose told me that she watched a few gory horror movies with him and he was fine."
Rose nodded. "Kept complaining about the gore being unrealistic and how it wouldn't work like that."
Drannor crossed his arms. "But it's true, I've seen a man get his head chopped off before and I'm telling you now that the executioner in that movie would have missed and got the back of the poor bugger's head. It's a lot harder than it looks too, nearly impossible in mid-battle" He ranted.
All three of them paused staring at Drannor, Drannor looked at them with confusion. "What?"
"You just bawled your eyes out at a Disney movie and now you're talking about cutting off heads from what sounds like personal experience," Jack spoke as he shook his head in disbelief.
"It wasn't me that did the head cutting, it was my Captain Hadir. Had a knack for it...looking back I think he may have enjoyed it." Drannor grimaced then and he went quiet, remembering his time on the battlefield.
The Doctor cleared his throat suddenly before Jack and Rose could start asking questions. And then he stood up. "Come on Drannor, It's your turn to make dinner today and my turn to supervise you." He spoke in a cheery voice.
Drannor nodded and followed the Doctor out of the room, still deep in thought. How hadn't he seen the signs of how Hadir really was before he finished training with him? Hadir had been brutal and cruel on the battlefield, and it seems Drannor's curse has put a stop to the ability Hadir had to hide his cruelty and blood lust.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
The Doctor leaned against the kitchen counter as he watched Drannor kneading dough. "You know you can talk to me?"
Drannor nodded. "I know, I just prefer to deal with things on my own most of the time. I don't like relying on people too much. And I'd rather not waste anyone's time if I can help it."
"You wouldn't be bothering me or wasting my time, I've got plenty of it." The Doctor spoke softly, he could tell Drannor's mind was lingering on the battles he'd fought in. Because he'd often get the same expression on his face when he thought of fighting in the time war. "I know what it's like, you know?... To fight in someone else's war, you look back and remember every regret and every mistake you made, wondering if you did something different, would the outcome have changed?"
Drannor stopped kneading the Dough and put it into a baking pan before wiping his hands on a towel and letting The Doctor handle the oven. "I had a feeling you were a soldier but I didn't want to ask...I didn't want to drag up anything painful for you."
The Doctor nodded as he put the loaf tin into the oven. "It still feels like it happened yesterday, but having you and Rose around helps. Helps me forget for just long enough that I sometimes feel happy."
"And then you remember again and the guilt hits you even harder," Drannor spoke softly. "I may not be ready to speak about it properly, but I'm also here to listen to you too," He gently held The Doctor's hand, a small smile on his lips. "Perhaps one day, one of us will take up the offer."
"Perhaps." The Doctor smiled at Drannor then leaned down pressing a kiss to Drannor's forehead. The elves eyes widened slightly and a blush came to his cheeks, but he then leaned up and pressed a kiss to The Doctor's cheek.
Jack paused in the doorway seeing the exchange. "Not interrupting anything am I?"
"yes." The Doctor spoke at the same time as Drannor let out a nervous "N-nope! " Drannor quickly moved away from The Doctor and busied himself with cleaning up the mess he'd made. His cheeks felt like they were on fire.
The Doctor's cheeks flushed as well realizing he'd said yes. "Jack you keep an eye on Drannor, make sure he doesn't burn down the kitchen, I'll be in the console room, I just remembered I had something I needed to do."
Jack gave The Doctor a nod and an amused smile as he watched him quickly leave the room. He then looked over at Drannor cleaning, as he sat on the counter. "Sooo, that was an interesting nothing that I interrupted...Because it sure looked like a something to me."
"Leave it, Jack," Drannor grumbled as his ears were now turning red from embarrassment and he continued to scrub the same spot on the counter.
"To me, it looked like you and The Doctor were getting rather close." He teased. "Come on tell me, you and The Doctor are a thing, aren't you?"
"No" Drannor quickly turned to look at Jack. "We're just friends, Get your mind out of the gutter and stop pestering or I'm covering your dinner in salt!"
Jack chuckled and held his hands up in surrender. "Yes, Sir."