RP for renegadeinexile

[thecricketer]

The Doctor had his head beneath the console, a tool kit at his side, and his hands plunged in very delicate wiring.

He didn't need to make this repair, not strictly; the TARDIS ran well enough without it. But it would make reactions just a bit smoother, just a bit swifter - and besides, he felt he owed her some tender caring to anyway.

It certainly wasn't because he needed something to distract him while he waited.

He wasn't impatient, he decided as he pulled a thin silver rod from the ancient box; he'd given her as much time as she needed and he'd meant it. He just...well, he never was good at standing still, really, especially when there were nagging thoughts to run from.

So he worked, and was content, and sometimes he smiled. He already knew what their first real trip should be - he'd promised already, after all.

Comments

[thisway-comes.livejournal.com]

She stood silently for a few moments, smiling at him. Then she stirred, lacing her fingers through his and giving his hand a soft squeeze. "It's been two lifetimes since I was there," she said. "They won't recognise me at all. New face, new body... new person."

She laughed softly. "I'm almost nervous about it. I don't know why."

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

"Perhaps it's better that way," he said softly. "To see the world as yourself, rather than their ruler?"

[thisway-comes.livejournal.com]

She nodded thoughtfully. "Perhaps it is. I never really saw the world as anything but their ruler... I didn't live there long before my marriage, and even then I lived in the palace."

Then she grinned, rueful and nostalgic at the same time. "When I left, I couldn't wait to get away. I didn't think I'd miss it so much."

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

The Doctor smiled softly, nodded, and his gaze dropped to the console. It was now, of course, that he remembered what he liked about home. What he didn't want to fade into nothing but memories.

When he looked up, the melancholy had passed, and his voice was light.

"What time did you set the coordinates for?" How long after she left, was the real question.

[thisway-comes.livejournal.com]

She realised what must have been behind his silence; much as he had allowed her moments to pass without hard scrutiny or judgement, she kept her attention on the console until he spoke, giving him what time and space she could.

She lifted her gaze to meet his, smiling faintly. "We'll get there about twenty years after I left."

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

He returned the smile, relief guiding the turn of his lips.

"How much do you suppose it's changed, in your absence?"

[thisway-comes.livejournal.com]

She shook her head briefly. "I can't even imagine," she murmured.

A thought briefly flashed across her mind... meeting the Doctor again in his sixth incarnation. Being discovered stealing neurotransmitters from people on Earth to help the people of Miasmia Goria she'd turned into experimental subjects.

"...let's hope they're better off, mmm?"

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

If he wanted to probe - and he rather did, really - this would be the time to do it. A number of questions sprang to his mind immediately, as they tended to do. He could ask any one of them.

"I'm sure they're getting on well enough." A pause, and then, at last, an inquiry he thought harmless.

"Was there anyone to take your place, when you left?"

[thisway-comes.livejournal.com]

She nodded slowly. "The Raja had a nephew. I handed the throne over to him when I abdicated. He was the closest surviving relative at the time, so according to law and custom, he should rightfully have had the throne. He was also rather a wise young man, so I felt no hesitation in doing so."

She studied him a moment, and then offered, as if trying to anticipate another question, "I ruled for nearly a century. I married the Raja when I was two hundred sixty-three, rather soon after both my first regeneration and my first exile."

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

He nodded, brow furrowing slightly in faint concern - he found himself hoping she'd been right in her assessment. If something went wrong...

Well, that was what he did, wasn't it? He made things right again.

His eyes widened when she spoke again; he hadn't expected more information but he certainly welcomed it.

"You were young," he said quietly, and there was some mix of sympathy and admiration in his voice. Rassilon knew he couldn't manage that now, never mind when he was barely three hundred.

[thisway-comes.livejournal.com]

"Very much so, yes. I can see that now, looking back."

Her eyes drifted from his, appearing to aimlessly study a spot over his shoulder as she spoke. "Young enough to think that I could do everything. And that I knew everything."

She sighed, and smiled, though it had a bit of a bitter edge to it. "I wasn't ready for any of it. I simply hadn't had the life experience or the social experience to successfully navigate that mess," she said, with surprising candor.

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

"I vaguely remember those days, yes," he said with a faint smile. "Sometimes I think I regress..." He shook his head, and the smile faded.

"That you can admit it now shows how far you've come, then." He ran a hand through his hair, suddenly feeling rather awkward.

"If it's any consolation I'd have probably done a worse job..."

[thisway-comes.livejournal.com]

Her smile widened at that, touched. "I'd like to think I've come a long way since then, yes," she replied. "And somehow I doubt you'd have done all that badly."

The TARDIS materalised with its usual soft thump, and she gazed down at the display to verify their location. "Good. Twenty years after my abdication, as promised. We've landed in Goa. That's the capital city."

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

His grin came quite suddenly, and he stepped away from the console, offering his hand.

"Care to give me the royal tour?"

[thisway-comes.livejournal.com]

She couldn't help but laugh softly as she took his hand. "I'd be delighted," she replied, depressing the lever to open the doors.

They stepped out onto a bustling street on a sunny afternoon under a faintly red-tinged sky. People in brightly-coloured and boldly-patterned clothing moved to and fro, walking, riding in large carriages, stopping at the storefronts along both sides of the street. The place had a decided air of 25th-century space outpost meets Colonial India about it.

The Rani smiled as she closed the doors behind them, pausing to take in the sights for a few moments. "This is, for want of a better term the high street."

She turned, and gestured with her free hand toward a formidable-looking fortress, with spires and orange walls. "And that's the palace. That was my home."

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

"Looks cosy," he replied with raised eyebrows, lips curving again as he met her gaze. He had, of course, been looking every which way, taking in everything he could. He'd never visited this world; he'd already decided it was rather pleasant, but that may have been the company.

There was, of course, something about a bright, bustling world that seemed to be at peace. Somehow he didn't seem to frequent those.

[thisway-comes.livejournal.com]

She grinned at that, squeezing his hand. "As cosy as a place with two hundred rooms can be, yes."

Her eyes scanned their surroundings, drinking in every detail. "I always did rather find this place beautiful," she murmured in a very small voice, suddenly realising just how much she'd missed it.

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

He returned the smile, but several moments passed before he spoke again; he knew when to allow one to look in silence.

"Is there any place in particular you'd like to visit?" he asked softly.

[thisway-comes.livejournal.com]

"Erm." Her eyes darted quickly to the palace, and she laughed softly. "Let's not go there."

She bit her lip, thinking, and then her eyes lit up. "Come on," she said, tugging at his hand. "I know just the place for you."

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

He offered no resistance, laughing softly as she led him.

"A pleasant surprise, I hope?"

[thisway-comes.livejournal.com]

She nodded, smiling as she looked back over her shoulder. "There's a gathering place just a few blocks away. People come together there for, erm, it's sort of the equivalent of coffee. They drink, and argue, and talk, and tell stories. The Raja brought me once when I first arrived, before he was courting me; once he'd started that I was far too well-known to visit again for everyday sorts of conversations. It wasn't as if the ruler's consort could sit idly at the edge of the plaza and listen in on conversations."

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

The description widened his smile into a grin; anticipation was clear in his voice.

"I imagine not, no. That's why I've always preferred anonymity."

[thisway-comes.livejournal.com]

"I begin to see the attraction," she replied, leading him around a corner and into a large open-air plaza. "Ah. And here we are."

All along the edges were tables of various sizes surrounded by chairs, and low benches. People were gathered around them, in pairs, in groups, talking animatedly.

She smiled at the Doctor. "Do you want a drink? If you'll find us somewhere to sit I'll get the drinks sorted..."

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

He grinned at her, delighting in the easy, earnest conversation surrounding them.

"Certainly." He squeezed her hand before drawing it away; he wasn't entirely sure why.

He decided not to analyse it as he strode towards an empty table near the centre of it all.

[thisway-comes.livejournal.com]

She blinked at the hand-squeezing, breaking into a small but bright smile as she watched him walking away.

She turned and crossed the plaza, joining the queue for drinks, eavesdropping on bits of conversation as she waited. It was as it always had been, history, current events, trade, gossip, and she noted that things seemed to be going well.

If she were honest, she also was listening very hard for any mention of herself, good or bad.

But there was none by the time she'd gotten their drinks, and so she started weaving her way back across the plaza, her eyes searching the crowd for the Doctor.