From This Day Forward - Chapter Six [6/9]
“If you could touch the alien sand and hear the cries of strange birds and watch them wheel in another sky, would that satisfy you?”
DISCLAIMER & OTHER WARNINGS
The Doctor didn’t pay attention to how long he spent climbing into the towering tree. He did know it was a while before he reached a branch that levelled out. After it, it was another half-kilometre before he saw the nearest settlement. It was a hamlet-sized collection of nest-like domiciles around an open area he determined to be the marketplace.
Based on the architecture and the features of the native people here, he was pretty sure the TARDIS had landed them on Velopssi.
Why she had done so he did not understand. Velopssi was a completely peaceful planet, bordering on dull.
Although…
Judging the time of day from the length of the shadows, the Doctor surmised that the business day had only come to an end. Yet few people were in the market. Those that lingered were not natives but aliens of various other species.
He glanced around at the abandoned stalls distrustfully. Even if the merchants and sellers had left for the day, the square should have been packed with the very social Velopssians. It was entirely too quiet, except -
In the distance he could hear a commotion, and he grinned.
‘That’s more like it!’
He took off down a shrub-lined pathway leading from the market, towards the sounds of many voices talking together. The commotion grew louder until he entered a cluster of nest-houses where almost a hundred people were gathered, talking and shouting. There was a palpable sense of excitement and scandal in the air. That made all the more sense when he caught a flash of pink and yellow through the throng of feathered bodies.
As he pushed his way through the crowd, he saw that the Velopssians now surrounding her were the most agitated of the bunch. A surly looking young male appeared to be arguing while an older couple shook their heads in dismay at the young female before them. The latter was looking pleadingly at Rose, who appeared completely stunned.
The Doctor’s eyes fell on where the Velopssian girl was holding on to Rose’s hand, and a niggling suspicion appeared in the Doctor’s mind.
‘She’s an outsider!’ the young male cawed in protest.
‘And there are provisions for that,’ the older male answered, considering the young female sadly. ‘Chi’Ko’Ba, you are within your rights of course, but wouldn’t it be more prudent to choose one more fitting…?’
‘I choose Rose,’ the young female insisted. ‘She took me by hand -’
‘Obviously it didn’t know what it was doing!’ the young man interrupted.
‘- and I won’t let anyone say I didn’t honour the law!’
‘This is unacceptable! Especially to those of us who have followed custom for years in the hopes of -’
‘Your undertakings are not what is being discussed, Tane,’ the older female, likely Chi’Ko’Ba’s mother, spoke up imperiously. ‘This is a clan matter, not flock business.’
Tane looked like he wished to argue, but Rose was speaking now, her voice tight with confusion and anxiety. ‘Could someone please tell me what the hell’s going on?’
‘See? It doesn’t know what it’s done!’ Tane cried triumphantly.
With this as his cue, the Doctor finally broke through the last of the crowd. He had to make a concerted effort not to laugh as he pieced together the chain of events from that small smattering of conversation. If there was one thing he had remarked about Rose upon their short acquaintance, it was her tendency to get herself involved in things that weren’t her business. It was Cardiff all over again.
Not that he objected to that aspect of her personality at all - in fact, it was one thing he liked most about her. Of course, the last time she had ended up knocked out cold and kidnapped, but it was the intention that counted.
Rose caught sight of him and gasped out a relieved, ‘Doctor!’
The cluster of avians turned their attention on him, the males puffing up their neck feathers at the possibility of an impending threat.
‘Who are you?’ the older female demanded, cold yellow eyes focussing on him.
‘I’m the Doctor,’ he said with a wiggle of his fingers, ‘Hello!’
There was an excited murmur at this latest development, and Tane took several threatening steps forward. ‘We have no need for another outsider in this matter.’
‘Yeah, well, bad luck, cos I’m her legal guardian,’ the Doctor explained. ‘Appointed by her family to keep her outta trouble - bit of a handful, this one.’ Rose opened her mouth to protest, and he cut her off. ‘Now, now, you let me handle this because you’ve certainly gone and mucked it up. There are proper channels to go through if you wanted to put forward your candidacy.’
He sent Rose a meaningful look that he hoped conveyed a directive to play along. Her cooperating was integral if things were going the way he thought they would go.
By the annoyed yet resigned flicker in her eyes, she had gotten the message because she answered through gritted teeth, ‘Fine.’
‘Fantastic,’ he said. ‘And, of course, now I must stay with you all the way through to make sure you don’t muck it up even more. We wouldn’t want to risk offending your intended’s gracious parents.’ He ducked his head respectfully to the parents first, then the girl and finally the young man who was obviously a spurned suitor. ‘Forgive my ward, her species got their start swinging from trees instead of building onto ‘em, and sometimes she just doesn’t think.’
‘A fine choice, obviously,’ Tane grumbled.
‘Looks like we’ve got a kind of cum manu engagement custom going on here. I take it Rose took your girl by hand, and she brought them both to your nest like that?’
‘That is so,’ the Velopssian girl’s father intoned, a note of annoyance and wariness in his voice.
Rose’s eyes widened in realisation at his words.
‘Then it’s all real simple. If I’m not wrong, and I rarely am, you’ve got to approve or disapprove the match. So if you could get on with it, we can be on our way with no one getting dishonoured or thrown off the dodgy side of a tree.’
‘An engagement to an outsider is not one that can be rushed,’ Chi’Ko’Ba’s father replied gravely. ‘By law, we have a day to decide.’
‘Of course,’ the Doctor agreed, undaunted by his first plan having failed. ‘Well, while you do that, I’ll just take Rose and we’ll wait to hear from you in the comfort of our, er, caravan.’
He made a motion for Rose to follow him, but the ranks of the Velopssians closed so that not a gap between them existed, cutting off any attempt at escape.
‘Nonsense, Doctor,’ the girl’s mother said, watching him knowingly. ‘Even as sudden as this matter has come upon us, custom must be respected. You and your ward will have lodgings in our nest while my mate and I discuss the matter.’
Rose made a disbelieving sound at the back of her throat.
‘Cheers,’ the Doctor said, still feigning politeness. ‘Lead the way.’
He again motioned for Rose to follow him, this time after the two large Velopssians and not in the direction that would lead them back to the TARDIS. They would probably have to make a run for it when no one was watching. If he judged by the intent looks from all the feathered folk that wouldn’t be easy.
As they were led away from the crowd outside and into the large round wooden structure, Rose looked like she had more than a few choice words ready. Both for himself and the Velopssian girl who had sidled away.
Hoping to reign that in, the Doctor was careful to nudge her by the shoulder and not the hand as had become automatic for him. If he was seen to do that, his cover as her guardian would be blown. They might think he was her husband, which could lead to even more unwanted complications than what they were mired in now. Velopssian’s weren’t a fan of polygamy…
The interior was a cluster of individual rooms organised around a main chamber that boasted a hearth and several low, soft chairs. Upon quick study, the domicile was rustic, filled with handcrafted decorations and wooden furniture. Quilts woven from mosses and long reeds covered the floors. Polished, shining rocks were fitted into the walls in mosaic-like patterns and the curved ceiling, which had an oculus type opening at the top, was decorated with precious jewels.
The Doctor and Rose were led to a room across the hearth chamber, and as they went, curious faces peeked out from behind shoji style sliding doors.
‘You may rest here while we deliberate,’ Chi’Ko’Ba’s father said. ‘We hope to see you at the meal this evening.’
He ducked his head, and disappeared, followed closely by Chi’Ko’Ba and her mother.
The door hadn’t been drawn closed three seconds before Rose rounded on the Doctor.
· ΘΣ ·
‘What the hell are you doing?’ Rose demanded, trying to keep her voice low. ‘Why didn’t you just explain that all this is a big misunderstanding?’
‘Cos I don’t feel like takin’ the scenic route to the bottom of a tree?’ the Doctor returned, looking completely unruffled by the turn of events. ‘You should be thanking me. Unless you’re a fan of bloody holes being pecked through your skin.’
‘Oh my God,’ Rose choked. ‘How are we getting out of here? We are getting out of here, right?’
He hesitated, looking thoughtful. ‘Might be a bit tricky. Very traditional species, Velopssians.’
‘That what they’re called?’
‘Yup. Velopssians, or Feathered People, from the planet Velopssi,’ he explained cheerfully. ‘Friendly to newcomers, as long as you don’t try to move in on their territory or try to change the customs.’
‘All right…’
‘And courtship is one of those customs. Far as I can tell without having someone go over the exact laws with me, you took an unmarried female by the hand which initiated a proposal.’
‘What?!’
‘The women are generally the ones who choose their mates - that’s why all the blokes you see around here are walking around dressed to the nines,’ he explained. ‘They’re trying to attract the attention of the females - try to entice ‘em to leave the fold of their friends, as it were. Once a woman moves a certain distance from the others, it’s believed that she’s given her approval to an offer of marriage. Proximity and touch are chiefly important. By that logic, a lesser known rule is that if a woman is without an escort or group of escorts, then she can be made a bride by capture.’
‘So because I tried to help Chi, they think I was trying to, um, capture her to get married?’
‘Yep. And her bringing you to her home was pretty much her accepting it,’ he paused, before adding. ‘Point is, you’re engaged. Congratulations!’
‘But I can’t - that’s not - I’m eighteen, and she looks like she’s barely out of a training bra - or whatever they wear here,’ Rose protested. ‘How’s that even allowed?’
The Doctor made a face at her. ‘Thought you said you were nineteen?’
‘I am - well, in a month and a bit.’
‘You lied?’
‘I didn’t lie - I was just worried you’d change your mind about letting me travel with you if you knew I was younger. And I really wanted to come along.’
The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her, no doubt thinking on their recent row.
‘Anyway, are we really going to talk about that now?’ she soldiered on. ‘It’s not like you’ve said how old you are.’
‘That would be telling,’ he answered cheerfully, mood shifting mercurially once more. He looked around the room they were standing in. ‘Age of consent varies from place to place. Here it’s based on when both parties reach biological maturity, which in this case means you’re both legal adults that can make your own decisions.’
Rose’s cheeks darkened. ‘But I’m not even the same species! I’m not even a bloke - I can’t marry her!’
‘Given when and where you come from, that’s a bit narrow minded.’
‘That’s not what I -’ Rose groaned in frustration. ‘I meant, why would they want me to marry her? It’s not like we could, um, have kids or anything.’
‘Doesn’t matter here,’ the Doctor shrugged. ‘Different customs and all. Adoption’s widespread, and children are raised communally. In their view, as long as you’ve got two hands and a work ethic, they don’t care if you’re male, female or undisclosed.’
As easily as her cheeks had filled with colour, now they drained just as quickly. ‘So you’re saying there’s no way out of this?’
‘I never did,’ he protested, sounding offended. ‘We’ve just got to go about it the proper way.’
‘Which is?’
‘Parental approval is an integral part of a marriage contract around here. They have to decide whether they will accept you into the fold.’
‘So they only have to say “no” and we can go?’
‘That’s an overly simplistic way of looking at it. The thing is if they do disapprove the match they risk dishonour on their daughter and you by suggesting you don’t have good judgement. Rather obvious in your case, but it wouldn’t reflect well on your lovely bride-to-be.’
‘Cor, they’ve got rules just for having ‘em,’ Rose groaned. ‘It’s like being in those dusty countries where none of the women have rights.’
‘Not really,’ he answered with something like disapproval. ‘It’s actually quite an egalitarian society. The jobs depend on traditional gender roles, only with utility being the determinant rather than any perceived strength or weakness of the individual. Women build and maintain the household and make sure kids get educated. The men work down in the mountains looking for the precious gems to impress the females. It’s a dangerous job, that, considering the possibility of cave-ins.’
Rose shook her head. ‘And so how’s all this help with getting me out of marrying Chi?’
‘It doesn’t, I just thought you might like to learn something about people other than your kind.’
‘Yeah, but not when I’m about to be forced to get married to one! Isn’t there a way out of this?’
‘Well, while I said they’re not focussed on fertility for a good match, that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be a factor in things,’ he mused. ‘Now and again someone’ll come ‘round that parents don’t like. Or someone’ll make an engagement they decide they want to break and need some kind of loophole to get out of it. If we get a chance, I’ll ask.’
‘Oh, and they’ll just tell you?’
‘If it were a profitable match, they wouldn’t. I doubt they’re any more chuffed at the idea of you as their in-law, than you are with sitting down to Christmas dinner with a bunch of birds.’
Rose shook her head at him, a smile threatening to emerge despite herself. ‘So you happen to be an expert in Velopssian marriage customs, then?’
‘Read about it once,’ he shrugged, and tapped his head. ‘Lot of knowledge up here. And I've got a good memory, me.’
‘I’m getting that,’ she answered, and for a moment they were grinning at each other.
And then her own memory kicked in and she recalled the sudden argument they had had which had led her to getting into this situation to begin with; one moment he had been joking and the next he had been snarling the unkindest things to her, his eyes wild and guarded.
What the Doctor had said about memories and everything he had told her about what he’d been through finally clicked together, and something occurred to her.
‘A good memory,’ she repeated delicately, ‘but not every memory’s a good one, is it?’
As she had expected, his eyes abruptly turned cold, and it was like he had locked up all the emotion there.
‘S’usually how it works,’ he said, tone noncommittal.
His jaw clenched, and she could see that her words had somehow found their way beyond the emotional armour he always seemed to wear. This time, though, she wasn’t preoccupied with the overwhelming nature of the TARDIS and her rash decision to travel with him. She noticed when his entire demeanour shifted to the defensive.
Before another row could start, she changed the subject. ‘So, what happens if Chi’s parents decide to go through with it?’
There was only a split second where he looked like he clearly hadn’t expected that, but then he was back to being impressive and smart. ‘Then the ball’s in our court. The suitor’s family - in this case, me as your guardian - has time to disapprove of the match too. Like I said, very egalitarian.’
‘Yeah,’ Rose said, slowly, ‘but doesn’t that have the same problem as Chi’s parents disapproving? She gets dishonoured and stuff?’
‘Maybe a bit, but it wouldn’t be as bad for her, cos her family’d have already done everything right,’ the Doctor said. ‘Sort of like hot potato - last one holding it is the one that’s in trouble. In this case, us - but we’re leaving, so we don’t care.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Nope,’ he answered. ‘But it’s the best I can do while we’re in here. Dunno if you noticed, but you made a right spectacle of yourself. Everyone’ll recognise you now, and I’d rather you not be pecked to death for trying to upset local tradition by running out on your bride.’
‘So we’re just… stuck here. Until tomorrow.’
‘Looks like.’
‘Great.’
There was a beat of silence, the reality of everything settling between them.
After a moment, Rose spoke up. ‘I’ll tell you what, though.’
‘What?’
‘Alien planet,’ she couldn’t help but grin.
He beamed back. ‘I know.’
‘A bit sorry I didn’t do the whole Neil Armstrong bit,’ she sighed.
· ΔΩ ·
NEXT CHAPTER
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