❝ The DUTCHMAN. Yes, that will do, ❞ the Time Lord agreed with a wry smile. Didn’t have QUITE the same ring to it as Master, but it certainly seemed to inspire terror within these men, men who had gone from threatening him to cowering before him in the blink of an eye — and in the end, wasn’t that all one could ask of a name? ❝ And this is — ❞ he looked back at the ginger woman, who was at that very moment moving to stand just behind him and to the left, as though it were her rightful place && frowned at the realization that he never had asked her name, ❝ — my loyal servant. The question, then, ❞ he added, a menacing gleam in his eye as he turned his attention back to the smaller craft’s captain, ❝ is not what am I doing on your ship. The question, the real question, is whose soul shall I claim first? ❞ He looked at each member of the captain’s crew, one by one, relishing his power as they each of them shrank back in turn when his sharp brown gaze landed upon them.
The captain stepped back and crossed his hand over his chest in a gesture meant to ward off evil spirits — an ineffective gesture, since the Master and his ship stood firmly in place, the raven-haired man simply raising a brow as the captain pleaded with him. ❝ PLEASE !!! I will give ye what ye want! Please, demon, anything, if ye’ll spare me! ❞
Outraged murmuring erupted from the rest of the men in response — wasn’t a captain’s first responsibility to his CREW? Shouldn’t he have been begging for clemency for them as well? — and the Time Lord bared his teeth in what was as much a snarl as it was a smile. ❝ Best start answering the lady’s questions then. ❞ His gaze flickered over to the ginger woman once more, long enough that she might have, at last, noticed the coldness behind it. Much as he might have made promises to get her to cooperate, much as he might be amusing himself with his efforts to break her, he didn’t — couldn’t — trust her, and her little stunt with the ship had only made him more suspicious. It was TOO perfect, too exactly the sort of thing he might have done himself. Almost as if she’d planned it, to put him at his ease and make him drop his guard, to make him admire her, trust her, in spite of himself.
Wouldn’t be fool enough to fall for THAT, now, would he? He would get to the bottom of this, figure out what it was she was really up to.
But one thing at a time.
❝ It’s a MAP! ❞ the captain finally admitted. ❝ Traded an entire chest of gold for it upon a floating tavern, some six months back. Strange fellow, says it’s no ordinary treasure this map be leading to, but something much more valuable, something worth a hundred chests of gold. How could I say no? ❞
❝ … But? ❞
❝ It’s not a map of anywhere on Lithos Prime. Me crew has sailed from one end of the planet to another, scoured every ocean of Lithos Prime — and had more than a spot of trouble, everywhere we went, with people wanting the treasure for themselves — and we haven’t found any place with the terrain to match it. ❞
❝ Show me this map. ❞
The captain hesitated before turning toward his cabin, gesturing for the strange newcomers to follow. There, spread out on a battered old coffee table that had been crudely nailed down, was a large map printed on yellowed paper in a strange gold ink. The Time Lord ran his fingers over it, surprised to feel the smallest shock of electricity run through his fingertips. This was no ordinary map, and he wondered, briefly, if this fool of a captain had worked that out yet. ❝ What do you make of this, love? ❞ he asked, glancing up at his companion, his voice soft, inviting, beckoning the ginger over to his side without him having to lift a finger. ❝ Look like anyplace you know? ❞
❝ Ye’re asking yer WOMAN? ❞ the captain asked, surprised, a mocking edge to his voice. ❝ Ye think a woman would know better than a seasoned seafarer, like me and me crew? ❞
❝ She’s NOT mine, ❞ the Master snapped, before drawing in a calming breath. Wouldn’t do to scare the captain off before he got what he wanted, would it? ❝ And what makes you so sure that this one isn’t a seafarer as well? ❞ he added, taking the ginger’s hand in his own — an apparent act of chivalry, had jagged nails not been digging into the porcelain flesh of her wrist all the while — and positioning her in front of the map. ❝ After all, is anyone ever what they appear to be? ❞ His voice was light, casual, but pointed enough that the TARDIS couldn’t miss his meaning as he guided her hand over the map, so that her fingertips came to rest over the giant gold letter X that marked the location of the treasure, the Time Lord gently pressing her hand down onto the paper to ensure she felt the same little electric shock that had surprised him mere seconds before.
she’d thought herself dreadfully clever , hadn’t she , thinking so quickly as to get her master out of such a TROUBLESOME situation? she’d been proud for a moment or two , the forty - five , had stood just the slightest bit taller , chin raised up in the air. but then , then he looked over at her , and the ship could see nothing but COLDNESS behind those sharp brown eyes , that’d been piloting her shell for centuries now , and she found her confidence quickly fading. ❝ elian , ❞ she murmured , more to herself than to anyone else. ❝ my master’s loyal servant ; elian ... ❞
it was a name she’d chosen for herself , in the years the forty - five had been forced to survive on earth without her time lord. it’d been funny , in the beginning ; the word , it meant ‘ a moment in time. ‘ how silly , for a creature that lived outside of time herself. ——— but she’d never thought it her true name , had she? LOVE , he used to call her , when he ran his fingers over the dials in her console room , as he once pushed her to her very limits , through universes and galaxies. was that not her name? had it all been a mistake , she wondered , a misunderstanding on her part?
the drums beat LOUDER and LOUDER in her mind , the closer she stood to the raven haired time lord , as they always did. and , as the realization dawned upon her that ‘ love ‘ wasn’t likely to have ever been her name at all .... for one , very brief moment ; the noise pained her , sending a sharpness through her head like she’d never experienced before.
when the ship — when elian — raised her head once again , they were standing in a different place altogether , and she reckoned she must have followed her time lord without even realizing it. they stood , all three of them , around an old wooden table ( cracked and weathered from years at sea ) , gazing down upon an ancient map. the paper was yellow , frayed and burnt across the edges , but the words written in gold still shone brightly , and the ginger frowned. ❝ let me see ... ❞ she murmured , trying to ignore the jolt of ( what must have been ) HEARTACHE that coursed through her veins when her time lord growled that she wasn’t his. —————— of course she wasn’t , how could she have ever thought .....
❝ yes ... ❞ the tardis frowned , flinching for a moment as the master’s nails dug into the pale skin of her wrist , then gasping when her fingertips touched gold && a soft hum of electricity flowed through her. ❝ this is ... well , it is dreadfully lithos prime , only —— ❞ for a brief moment , elian’s heart beat wildly , and her palms grew slick , as if she were nervous of something. what that was , she hardly knew. ❝ this is a map of sohtil , the world that rests under the oceans of this planet .... ❞
“ your woman’s mad , she is! “ the captain cried out , shaking his head and exclaiming that the oceans of lithos prime were so deep , and so black , that it would be IMPOSSIBLE for anything to survive under the waters. save sea monsters , and the dead.
even then , elian shook her head , concentrated gaze firm on the map , as the words shifted before the master’s eyes from gold illegible lettering , to gallifreyan , the tardis hardly bothering to translate the letters into something their captain could read. ❝ you must sail past the black rocks , to where the sea is angry and treacherous , then west through the fog. strike a deal with the creature who lives amongst the ship - wrecked boats and .... ❞ and now , she could hardly breathe. now , elian looked down to find her hands trembling in her time lord’s grip , and her breath quickening , though she still did not know what the cause was. ❝ and then ....
if the creature does not KILL YOU , he will send you down , down through the chasms underneath the surface of the water , down to the bottom of the trench .... and you will surface in sohtil. ❞
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