Memento (1/1)
Title: Memento
Gift For:
solielle
Pairing: 10/Rose
Rating: G
Betas:
dettiot and
platypus
Summary: The Doctor and Rose visit New Virginia - the planet, not the state.
Written (as a pinch-hitter) for
solielle as part of the
oh_she_knows Secret Santa exchange. Author's notes (including the prompt) at the end.
---
The Doctor opened the TARDIS doors and made a grand gesture into the bright day. "New Virginia!" he exclaimed. "The planet, not the state. Come on!"
Straw crunched underneath her feet as Rose walked outside. All around them, there was the noise of a busy city - people's conversation, the clopping of horses' hooves, and the bustle of everyday activity.
She studied their surroundings with open-mouthed curiosity. They had landed in an alley off a main thoroughfare, and she could make out tall buildings with smooth, tan walls and dark timbers crossing their exteriors. Behind the steeply slanted roofs of the buildings that lined the busy street, she could see the grey spires of a cathedral. Two lively dappled horses trotted by in front of her, pulling a wooden carriage. She had never been to Virginia, so she hadn't been sure of what to expect from its extraterrestrial namesake, but this certainly surprised her.
The Doctor leaned against the TARDIS, watching her with as much interest as she had surveyed the city. She started to ask a question, then thought better of it and reframed her thoughts.
"Is this -" she waved at the scene around them - "supposed to be colonial Virginia?"
"Nope," he answered. "Virginia the state and New Virginia the planet were both named for a queen. This whole planet is based on Elizabethan England, not the colony."
"Oh," she said. She supposed that did make sense.
"Shall we, then?" He offered her his arm, but she hesitated for a moment.
"Am I dressed all right? I mean, for New Virginia?" As was his wont, he hadn't given her much in the way of wardrobe suggestions before they had arrived. She wore a light blue hoodie with black trousers and her newly broken-in boots: black, lightweight, comfortable, but very chic. He might be marginally more fashion-conscious in this regeneration, but he still only had to make a decision between the brown suit and the blue one. It was always she who was called "naked" or worse, froze or roasted in some unforeseen change in the weather.
"Oh, yes. It's a tourist planet, so you'll see all sorts." He grinned, and she suspected he wasn't talking just about clothing. He wiggled his elbow at her. She threaded her arm through his and they set off.
The streets were busier than she had expected, and as he had hinted, there were all sorts of people out and about. She saw a wide range of normal human skin tones plus the occasional light green or lavender. At one point, a diminutive man with bright red skin and spikes sticking out of his bald head crossed in front of them and, although she knew it was rude, Rose couldn't help but stare.
The Doctor knew all the best places to stop along the busy route, particularly for food. They ate an assortment of treats: fruit pies filled with orange and cinnamon; a sampling of several roasted or boiled meats; spiced nuts; marzipan candies painstakingly shaped into flowers, fruits, or animals. Rose couldn't bear to eat the perfect candies, although the Doctor happily sucked his into slivers.
"Eat and enjoy," he told her, licking his fingers.
"It's too perfect," she said. He had bought her a long-stemmed rose, painted crimson and green with traces of gold. Sugar crystals glittered on the surface of the candy. She studied the miniscule thorns and delicate petals with wonder. "How do they do that?"
"Years of practice and a steady hand," he said, smiling at her. She wrapped the rose in the waxed paper the store had provided and tucked it carefully in the pocket of her hoodie.
They had wandered while they talked and now found themselves in front of a gap in the buildings. A gate welcomed visitors into a green park that was filled with trees and benches and flowering plants. The Doctor held the gate for her.
Inside, the sounds of the busy street faded away and they were content to wander for a while, hand in hand. After some time, they stood before a tall statue of a woman, her hands extended in benediction. She wore a formal gown, complete with carefully carved embroidery and a huge, lacy collar. Her hair was pulled severely back and covered with a coronet dripping with stone pearls. All around the statue's base, there was an odd assortment of items ranging from a shiny gold watch to a man's coat to a jewelled vase.
This would be Elizabeth I, then, Rose thought - the Virgin Queen in all her regal authority. What would she think of having a planet named in her honour?
The Doctor knelt and traced the inscription carved into the statue's base. "All my possessions for a moment in time," he read, and smiled. He stood and took Rose's hand again. "Those are reputed to be Elizabeth's last words."
"Were they?"
He shrugged. "Might have been. I wasn't there. Probably a good idea; she didn't like me. Still don't know why …" He frowned and then seemed to dismiss the thought. "At any rate, here, they've taken on a meaning of their own. This place is a sort of wishing well. Visitors leave an item of some value to them at her feet and it's supposed to bring them good luck."
"Does it work?"
He squeezed her hand and shook his head. "It's a superstition, nothing more."
He would think that, so she moved on. "What happens to this stuff?"
"They collect it, sell it, and the proceeds go to a trust for New Virginian schools. Not a bad arrangement. It makes people happy to make the gesture, and someone benefits."
She considered and bent down to read the inscription for herself. All my possessions for a moment in time. She shivered, remembering the beginning of her life in the other universe, carrying nothing but the clothes on her back and what she had in her pockets.
The Doctor, sensing her shifting mood, let go of her hand and put his arm around her. There was this moment, with him, and all the others she had never expected to have. She hadn't traded her worldly possessions to be with him; she'd given up her friends and family. They, in turn, had lost her.
She thought she understood Elizabeth's sentiment in her last moments, that there was nothing tangible in the world worth more than the moments that had passed and would never come again.
She leaned into his embrace for a moment, holding onto to him as if he was her most valuable possession, then untangled herself from his embrace and gave him a wavering smile. The familiar touch of his hand against her cheek as he tucked her hair behind her ear soothed her. He understood, better than anyone.
On impulse, she removed the delicate marzipan rose from her pocket. She knelt and placed it along the base of the statue, then wadded up the paper and put it back in her pocket. It was a small offering, not worth anything to anyone but her, and any rain would dissolve it into a sweet, sticky puddle.
Straightening, she reached out for the Doctor's hand and he helped gently pull her upright. Although she didn't need the support, she leaned into him and felt his arms come around her. She rested her head against his shoulder and listened to him breathe. He remained quiet, still, simply holding her close.
There wasn't anything left to say in the garden park, so they walked hand in hand without a word back toward the gate.
"There's an archery competition about to start," said the Doctor with a cheeky grin. "Want to come see me split an arrow down the middle? Very Robin Hood."
"Robin Hood was ages before Queen Elizabeth," she pointed out.
"It's a theme planet, not a historical exhibition," he complained. "Certain liberties are allowed."
She laughed and swung their clasped hands. "All right then, Sir Doctor of TARDIS, archery it is." They took off at a run, in pursuit of the next adventure.
She didn't need the memento; she had the moment.
--
Author's Notes: For the
oh_she_knows Secret Santa exchange. The prompt was the quotation from Elizabeth I in this story: "All my possessions for a moment in time." These are (as the Doctor notes) reputed to be her dying words.
Gift For:
solielle
Pairing: 10/Rose
Rating: G
Betas:
dettiot and
platypus
Summary: The Doctor and Rose visit New Virginia - the planet, not the state.
Written (as a pinch-hitter) for
solielle as part of the
oh_she_knows Secret Santa exchange. Author's notes (including the prompt) at the end.
---
The Doctor opened the TARDIS doors and made a grand gesture into the bright day. "New Virginia!" he exclaimed. "The planet, not the state. Come on!"
Straw crunched underneath her feet as Rose walked outside. All around them, there was the noise of a busy city - people's conversation, the clopping of horses' hooves, and the bustle of everyday activity.
She studied their surroundings with open-mouthed curiosity. They had landed in an alley off a main thoroughfare, and she could make out tall buildings with smooth, tan walls and dark timbers crossing their exteriors. Behind the steeply slanted roofs of the buildings that lined the busy street, she could see the grey spires of a cathedral. Two lively dappled horses trotted by in front of her, pulling a wooden carriage. She had never been to Virginia, so she hadn't been sure of what to expect from its extraterrestrial namesake, but this certainly surprised her.
The Doctor leaned against the TARDIS, watching her with as much interest as she had surveyed the city. She started to ask a question, then thought better of it and reframed her thoughts.
"Is this -" she waved at the scene around them - "supposed to be colonial Virginia?"
"Nope," he answered. "Virginia the state and New Virginia the planet were both named for a queen. This whole planet is based on Elizabethan England, not the colony."
"Oh," she said. She supposed that did make sense.
"Shall we, then?" He offered her his arm, but she hesitated for a moment.
"Am I dressed all right? I mean, for New Virginia?" As was his wont, he hadn't given her much in the way of wardrobe suggestions before they had arrived. She wore a light blue hoodie with black trousers and her newly broken-in boots: black, lightweight, comfortable, but very chic. He might be marginally more fashion-conscious in this regeneration, but he still only had to make a decision between the brown suit and the blue one. It was always she who was called "naked" or worse, froze or roasted in some unforeseen change in the weather.
"Oh, yes. It's a tourist planet, so you'll see all sorts." He grinned, and she suspected he wasn't talking just about clothing. He wiggled his elbow at her. She threaded her arm through his and they set off.
The streets were busier than she had expected, and as he had hinted, there were all sorts of people out and about. She saw a wide range of normal human skin tones plus the occasional light green or lavender. At one point, a diminutive man with bright red skin and spikes sticking out of his bald head crossed in front of them and, although she knew it was rude, Rose couldn't help but stare.
The Doctor knew all the best places to stop along the busy route, particularly for food. They ate an assortment of treats: fruit pies filled with orange and cinnamon; a sampling of several roasted or boiled meats; spiced nuts; marzipan candies painstakingly shaped into flowers, fruits, or animals. Rose couldn't bear to eat the perfect candies, although the Doctor happily sucked his into slivers.
"Eat and enjoy," he told her, licking his fingers.
"It's too perfect," she said. He had bought her a long-stemmed rose, painted crimson and green with traces of gold. Sugar crystals glittered on the surface of the candy. She studied the miniscule thorns and delicate petals with wonder. "How do they do that?"
"Years of practice and a steady hand," he said, smiling at her. She wrapped the rose in the waxed paper the store had provided and tucked it carefully in the pocket of her hoodie.
They had wandered while they talked and now found themselves in front of a gap in the buildings. A gate welcomed visitors into a green park that was filled with trees and benches and flowering plants. The Doctor held the gate for her.
Inside, the sounds of the busy street faded away and they were content to wander for a while, hand in hand. After some time, they stood before a tall statue of a woman, her hands extended in benediction. She wore a formal gown, complete with carefully carved embroidery and a huge, lacy collar. Her hair was pulled severely back and covered with a coronet dripping with stone pearls. All around the statue's base, there was an odd assortment of items ranging from a shiny gold watch to a man's coat to a jewelled vase.
This would be Elizabeth I, then, Rose thought - the Virgin Queen in all her regal authority. What would she think of having a planet named in her honour?
The Doctor knelt and traced the inscription carved into the statue's base. "All my possessions for a moment in time," he read, and smiled. He stood and took Rose's hand again. "Those are reputed to be Elizabeth's last words."
"Were they?"
He shrugged. "Might have been. I wasn't there. Probably a good idea; she didn't like me. Still don't know why …" He frowned and then seemed to dismiss the thought. "At any rate, here, they've taken on a meaning of their own. This place is a sort of wishing well. Visitors leave an item of some value to them at her feet and it's supposed to bring them good luck."
"Does it work?"
He squeezed her hand and shook his head. "It's a superstition, nothing more."
He would think that, so she moved on. "What happens to this stuff?"
"They collect it, sell it, and the proceeds go to a trust for New Virginian schools. Not a bad arrangement. It makes people happy to make the gesture, and someone benefits."
She considered and bent down to read the inscription for herself. All my possessions for a moment in time. She shivered, remembering the beginning of her life in the other universe, carrying nothing but the clothes on her back and what she had in her pockets.
The Doctor, sensing her shifting mood, let go of her hand and put his arm around her. There was this moment, with him, and all the others she had never expected to have. She hadn't traded her worldly possessions to be with him; she'd given up her friends and family. They, in turn, had lost her.
She thought she understood Elizabeth's sentiment in her last moments, that there was nothing tangible in the world worth more than the moments that had passed and would never come again.
She leaned into his embrace for a moment, holding onto to him as if he was her most valuable possession, then untangled herself from his embrace and gave him a wavering smile. The familiar touch of his hand against her cheek as he tucked her hair behind her ear soothed her. He understood, better than anyone.
On impulse, she removed the delicate marzipan rose from her pocket. She knelt and placed it along the base of the statue, then wadded up the paper and put it back in her pocket. It was a small offering, not worth anything to anyone but her, and any rain would dissolve it into a sweet, sticky puddle.
Straightening, she reached out for the Doctor's hand and he helped gently pull her upright. Although she didn't need the support, she leaned into him and felt his arms come around her. She rested her head against his shoulder and listened to him breathe. He remained quiet, still, simply holding her close.
There wasn't anything left to say in the garden park, so they walked hand in hand without a word back toward the gate.
"There's an archery competition about to start," said the Doctor with a cheeky grin. "Want to come see me split an arrow down the middle? Very Robin Hood."
"Robin Hood was ages before Queen Elizabeth," she pointed out.
"It's a theme planet, not a historical exhibition," he complained. "Certain liberties are allowed."
She laughed and swung their clasped hands. "All right then, Sir Doctor of TARDIS, archery it is." They took off at a run, in pursuit of the next adventure.
She didn't need the memento; she had the moment.
--
Author's Notes: For the
oh_she_knows Secret Santa exchange. The prompt was the quotation from Elizabeth I in this story: "All my possessions for a moment in time." These are (as the Doctor notes) reputed to be her dying words.