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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2012 22:44:29 GMT -5
Swinging the pendulum slowly, Emilie remained quiet until Eustarchus spoke in an attempt to break that suddenly powerful silence.
"It needs more stories. I know, I can feel the emptiness. But no matter how hard I try too much is drained."
Still, Emilie remained silent until Eustarchus glanced back to the pendulum to avoid her blank gaze. She might be good at coming up with nonsense, but there did need to be some preparation time. On the plus side, it did seem to make the man more receptive, if uneasy, almost as if he was accepting a fate he had already prepared for.
Emilie found her voice, slowly at first, but picking up the further along she went, new lines coming easier the more she spoke.
"A library is more than words, More than stories stuffed with maps To success by any measure, Power, wisdom, or strength.
A library is more than words, It is a refuge for the weary, For those whose minds need filling or emptying, Who seek sanctuary in the temple of scrolls
A library is more than words, It has heart, a soul, an ache all its own Its pilot steers not gold but truth And the crew to help keep order
You lost your way, Captain Within this gold, seeking words and souls For a cure unneeded in such direct measure The refuge of knowledge need not seem a tether On a balance your heart a feather outweighs Til you stand and repent these darkest of days."
Catching the pendulum up then and jerking Eustarchus up into a standing position, Emilie snapped her fingers in front of his glazed eyes before adding a final, "Go."
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2012 22:53:42 GMT -5
After she finished, The Doctor motioned for the soldiers to move in and take the mad librarian away. As they did. The Doctor walked up to Emilie with a big smile, "Have I mentioned how absolutely clever I think you are lately? Because after every time you do something impressive, you follow up by doing something even grander."
He chuckled before saying, "I was listening in the whole time after I realized you weren't in danger. Brilliant stuff Emilie Gunnar, I've picked quite the capable companion in you."
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2012 23:03:42 GMT -5
Emilie had started at the introduction of soldiers and the Doctor to the room, it had seemed so cut off from the rest of the world when she was trying to fake hypnotism on the master hypnotist. The Doctor's compliment, however, shocked her more.
Blushing, Emilie muttered, "I just made up nonsense as quickly as I could. I'm honestly surprised it worked... I would have thought he'd have knocked me out and that would have been it."
She swallowed, hinting at the intensity of her nerves, before shrugging it off with, "Got lucky, I guess."
Emilie looked back up to the Doctor's eyes with a tentative smile. "Trust you to come with the cavalry. Or infantry, whatever the case may be."
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2012 23:18:19 GMT -5
"I just made up nonsense as quickly as I could. I'm honestly surprised it worked... I would have thought he'd have knocked me out and that would have been it."
"Got lucky, I guess."
The Doctor smiled and asked, "Is this going to be our thing? I'm going to compliment you and you're going to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal?" He put an arm around her shoulder in a half hug. The pair began walking as he said, "Drop some of the modesty already, you're traveling with the stuff of legends." He gave her a friendly squeeze.
"Now," he started, "We've earned a little treat. I know about this planet that makes the best snow cones in the Milky Way, let's go?"
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2012 23:35:40 GMT -5
The Doctor smiled and asked, "Is this going to be our thing? I'm going to compliment you and you're going to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal?" He put an arm around her shoulder in a half hug. The pair began walking as he said, "Drop some of the modesty already, you're traveling with the stuff of legends." He gave her a friendly squeeze.
Emilie had to make a concerted effort to not deny she was being modest. Even if it felt that way to her, a petty argument was not at all something she wanted to indulge in. Especially right now when relief had her tense muscles remembering how to relax.
Instead, she answered him with a dead panned, "Yes. Sounds like the plan."
A small smile had crept up into her expression though, as she followed him out towards the main library.
"And as for the snow cones, they sound fantastic."
As they neared the soldiers who were still trying to calm the two newly recovered adults - Eustarchus was babbling as well, but the two whose minds had been messed with were understandably angry and therefore taking up more attention. What caught Emilie's attention was the little boy.
Walking right up to the Doctor, the ten or twelve year old approached clutching a codex inscribed in odd circles that she, at least, could not read. A small hand tugged at the Doctor's sleeve, insuring that he stopped long enough to meet darkeyes shining not with madness, but what looked like hope.
"Doctor?" he murmured, holding out the book in his arms towards him as an altar server might the liturgy to a priest.
"You'll need this, sir, when the river rises."
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2012 12:19:42 GMT -5
"Yes. Sounds like the plan."
He ignored her deadpan and continued on smiling as if she'd been enthusiastic in her response, "And as for the snow cones, they sound fantastic."
"Excellent! I've got the coordinates already in mind!" The Doctor smiled as they neared the exit, where one of the victims was pulling at his sleeve. He looked and grinned before saying, "Hello! Feeling better now?"
"Doctor?" He was holding a book out toward him. The Doctor let go of Emilie's shoulder and held out his hands to take it. He was about to ask what it was for when the boy spoke again, "You'll need this, sir, when the river rises."
The Doctor tried to decipher what he meant on the spot, it could mean many things. However, the idea that kept popping into his mind, it was impossible.
Right?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2012 14:26:03 GMT -5
The young boy smiled as the Doctor lifted the book from his hands.
"And yes, sir. I'm feeling a lot better. You will too. Just remember, Doctor."
He turned his bright smile towards Emilie for just a moment before running barefoot out onto the streets of Alexandria.
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Emilie kept her peace, as curious as she was about the enigma that seemed to have the Doctor frozen.
"Doctor? Are you alright?" she asked, once the boy had left.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2012 14:54:12 GMT -5
As they walked away and The Doctor heard Emilie ask if he was alright. He slowly looked to her with a smile, "I'm great, nothing wrong with me. What makes you ask?" He avoided the subject, mostly because he wasn't one hundred percent sure if what he thought the boy meant was the truth.
"Let's head back to the TARDIS, time for snow cones."
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2012 15:24:16 GMT -5
Emilie reached out to brush the Doctor's shoulder softly, a little hesitant.
"Doctor, the TARDIS isn't parked this way," Emilie told her friend. "We've passed the turning for it."
Despite her concern, Emilie didn't press for answers, instead she caught his hand briefly in a moment of consolation before turning around. Just in time to see flames go up, Hasheth and the other of Eustarchus' victims were now being forcibly restrained, but it was too late. The library in its separate compound from the rest of the Museum was burning, and several ships near the port with it.
The Roman soldiers were already working as a unit to help put out the fire, and citizens were beginning to trickle in from the smell of smoke being blown across the city. Even if they salvaged something, a good portion of the Library would be lost.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2012 15:46:59 GMT -5
Well, that was embarrassing. The Doctor was lost in thought a bit, so from here, he just let Emilie guide him out. As he was thinking things over, the warmness in his hand made him look to Emilie and smile.
'Oh Emilie, you're being such a good friend,' he thought, 'I'm just not ready to tell everything yet. Please be patient.'
He always did this, he waited a little bit before explaining himself. He wondered if he'd always been this enigmatic, then shook it off as they exited the library, now one of his least favorite types of places to go. He was truly beginning to dislike all libraries.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2012 16:06:33 GMT -5
The TARDIS was a more than welcome sight when they arrived, and Emilie released the Doctor's hand then so he could let them in.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say the TARDIS was upset we'd want to see a library other than hers," Emilie suggested. The Doctor had grown so somber since receiving that book, she just wanted to see him smile.
Hovering at the door, Emilie added in a quieter voice, "Are we still on for snow cones?"
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2012 16:23:32 GMT -5
He opened the door, then sighed in relief as they entered.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say the TARDIS was upset we'd want to see a library other than hers," The Doctor grinned, walking up to the TARDIS console and placing the book there. He chuckled and turned back toward the young woman, "It's not the most vindictive thing she'd ever do, isn't that right old girl?" He patted her console.
"Are we still on for snow cones?"
Spinning back toward the console, the Doctor began flipping switches and such, "Of course we are. Always keep an arrangement, sometimes I'm just, a bit late."
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2012 16:45:56 GMT -5
Watching him place the book down on the console, she almost asked him why the book did not appear to be titled. Just inscribed in circles, interesting aesthetically but still...
Emilie kept her curiousity to herself though. The Doctor was only just thawing from whatever shock the boy or the book had given him.
Of course we are. Always keep an arrangement, sometimes I'm just, a bit late."
"Well," Emilie pushed back from the console, turning so she was leaning against it as the Doctor began setting coordinates.
"Isn't that wizard."
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