Part 53 (1/2)
'And what will you teach us with your manifold wisdom?' said Ferain. 'Whoever you are or were?'
The Doctor met the old man's eye. The wind stil ed.
'What do you want, Ferain? What do you want me to be? Shal I reveal my blazing power? Might that not fry you to a crisp? Shal I sweep away evil and chaos? Reorder the stars in their courses? Banish burnt toast forever?'
He paused.
'Well, I won't. I wouldn't if I could. Who do you think I am?' He thumbed his chest. 'I'm me. The Doctor. What I have been, someone might have imagined. What I will be, how can I tell? I'm not immortal. I shal go to this Skaro Skaro, collect the Master's remains and bring them back to President Romanadvoratrelundar.'
'With such backing,' said Ferain, 'how can she fail?'
The Doctor's eyes flashed. 'Be quiet, my lord. And remember your place!'
The birds had stopped singing.
Ferain was silent.
Romana cleared her throat. 'Please be careful.'
The Doctor eyed her sternly. 'The Daleks. The Master. Romana, who have you been talking to?'
221.
Innocet sniffed the books one after another. The musty smells of the pages and covers had their own stories to tell.
One faded volume contained a picture of a tubby creature floating under a dirigible surrounded by a cloud of beat.i.tude flies.
The words were unintelligible to her. A telepath translator could do the job instantly, but that would deny her years of painstaking work. Something to savour while the new House was nurtured and grown. She and her House. She hoped the Doctor would come to their wedding.
She looked round for the Doctor, but he and his companions were nowhere to be seen.
They stood in a line beside the TARDIS.
'Please,' the Doctor said, 'I didn't ask to be seen off.'
'Tough,' said Dorothee. 'You'd better have these.' She fished her last battered box of teabags out of her pocket. He took them and hugged her tight.
He looked fondly at Leela for a long time, peering into her eyes as if he recognized something there.
'This love thing,' he mused. 'Interesting. A father from Gallifrey and a mother of Earth stock. That's an unusual pedigree.'
She pushed back her hair and said awkwardly, 'I don't have anything for you, Doctor.'
'Just call him after me.'
She looked startled and then nodded.
'Who exactly is the terrible Zodin?' b.u.t.ted in Chris. 'Some sort of Galactic megalomaniac emperor?'
The Doctor's eyes went misty. 'Zodin was a celebrated sword-swallower at the Grand Festival of Zymymys Midamor. She had an amazing trick with a scimitar.'
Chris grabbed the Doctor, lifting him off his feet in a monstrous bear hug.
'Roz bet me that I'd never dare do this,' he said. Eventually he put the Doctor down again and picked up his hat for him.
'Give my love to Bernice,' said the Doctor, squeezing Chris's hand.
'And ask her if she wants to lecture at the Academy here,' said Romana.
She turned to the Doctor.
'I know. I'll be careful,' he said.
'I want you to have this.' She slipped a metallic object into his hand. 'It's my sonic screwdriver.'
He smiled. 'Thank you, Madam President. I shall see you soon. Back at the Capitol.'
He walked to the TARDIS, a small figure clutching his presents. He turned his key and went inside.
One by one they moved away.
'Will he come back?' said Leela.
222.
'Dorothee!' The Doctor's head re-emerged from the door. 'I just remembered. I haven't been Merlin yet!'
He vanished and the door closed.
'What?' chorused the others, as Dorothee began to laugh.
The light on the TARDIS flashed like a bright idea.
A flock of startled birds rose from the trees as the TARDIS grated out of existence.
Then they were alone on the sunny mountainside.
223.
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Prologue.You can find a quote in Shakespeare to fit most things, but the 'abysm of time' line from The Tempest seemed absolutely right here. The Tempest is also Shakespeare's last play and Prospero is another magical figure and arch-manipulator, not unlike the Doctor. Maybe he is a Doctor, 12th or 13th generation. Now there's a thought.
They do say that if Shakespeare was alive today, he'd be writing for television...