You Reap What You Sow (20&21 of 45)

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Chapter Twenty:  Village

“There is something seriously wrong in this village,” Donna said as soon as she shut the door behind her. She had been gone for three hours and the Doctor had been about to leave Rose to go in search of her.

“What did you find out?” the Doctor asked, his eyes flitting over the sleeping form of his wife, before ushering Donna into the next room.

“I went with Torshawn’s wife Vida down to the communal hall and spent some time amongst the women and girls. There is an almost obsessive fear in the girls of not being married by the time they are eighteen years old. One girl I spoke to was happy to be taken as fourth wife by a man entering his sixth decade. They’re literally terrified of being old maids. And I can’t get to the reason why.”

She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair in an unconscious gesture reminiscent of the Doctor’s own. She realized what she was doing and smoothed her hair back down. “I also don’t understand with the abundance of young men without wives, why more of the girls aren’t first wives to them. That girl I spoke of was beautiful and yet she was pleased to be saddled to a withered old beastie.”

The Doctor frowned. “It may simply be that the elders are highly revered in this culture and that unmarried females have no status at all.”

“It’s more than that Doctor. I’ve been travelling with you for a couple of years now and I know when it’s just a bunch of stodgy old men with a penchant for control who are in charge. This is different. There is a definite undercurrent of fear. And the boys, well, I couldn’t get near them. Every time I tried, I was intercepted. It very quickly became clear they were deliberately keeping me away from the males.”

“Maybe they just thought you were a man-eater?” the Doctor quirked.

“Very funny. Ha ha. See how hard I’m not laughing? I’m serious, Doctor. It isn’t about competition or jealousy. Something is very wrong here.”

The Doctor frowned. “Well, I do have a bad feeling myself. The events leading to Rose’s injury were never explained. I’ll spend some time out amongst the villagers tomorrow and see if I can get some answers while you look after Rose and Dare. Try to get some sleep.”

Donna nodded and settled into the big bed while the Doctor strode to the window and stared out at the newly fallen snow. When morning came he found he had been lost in his thoughts all night. A light knock on the door brought him back to reality. It was Torshawn come to check on Rose’s wound.

“Yesterday when Rose was shot the hunter’s asked me something,” the Doctor said as the medic cleaned and rebandaged the site of Rose’s stitches. His body tensed when the Doctor mentioned the word hunters.

“Oh,” he said, his tone non-committal.

“Yes. They asked me where the beast was.”

“Hmm,” said Torshawn.

“What beast were they hunting?” he continued.

“I don’t know,” Torshawn said smoothly. “You’d have to ask them.”

“So your village isn’t been terrorized by a beast or anything like that?” he asked.

“I think you’ll find there are only men in this village. Not beasts.” Torshawn’s voice had a slight quaver to it.

“I’d like to talk with the hunters,” the Doctor continued. “I want answers on how they mistook us for something they could shoot at.”

Torshawn met his gaze and his eyes darkened. “Be very careful how you tread, Doctor. Things are not always…how they seem.” He stood up and cleared away the used bandage and his supplies. “I’ll send someone in with a breakfast tray for you and your wives. If you’d like to…come with me afterwards, I’ll take you to the hunters and you may ask them your questions. I can’t guarantee that you will get answers. They are a closed lot.”

“I have my ways.”

“And we have ours.” Torshawn hurried out the door as if he were afraid of saying anything else.

A few minutes later there was a knock at the door. Donna had risen and dressed in the meanwhile and she let the girl in. “Hi, I’m Donna,” she smiled at the girl who looked askance at Donna before turning her eyes to the Doctor.

She watched him the entire time she was in the room, walking to the table to set down the tray. “I’m Erinnah,” she said. “Is it true you only have two wives?” she asked the Doctor in a tiny voice.

The Doctor’s eyes became eagle-like. “Yes, it is.”

“I’m…I’m…almost of age,” she said, a hint of desperation in her voice. “If you’re accepting applications for third wife, perhaps you might consider me? I work hard and I can read and work numbers. I don’t eat much and I’m real quiet. I won’t be a bother and I’m real good with babies.”

The Doctor looked stunned. “I…I don’t know what to say,” he told her.

“Just say you’ll think about it,” she answered, fear of some unknown thing making her this bold. “It would be to my honor if you would consider me.” She raised her eyes just enough to meet his briefly and the anguish in them stabbed at his heart. “And I promise I would do nothing to dishonor your house.”

“Yes, Erinnah, I will consider your application,” he told her trying to imbue his voice with warmth.

“Thank you,” she said, her eyes on the floor again. “I only have…three weeks to go and then…well, I…I don’t want to think of what will happen if I…I don’t marry some…” She couldn’t finish, fleeing the room.

“That was downright bizarre,” said Donna. She walked over to the table and poured out tea into three cups. “Is Rose awake?”

“Yes,” she said quietly from her cot. “He woke me when he changed the dressing.” Donna brought Rose her tea made the way she knew her friend liked it.

Rose slipped a ring off her right forefinger and handed it to Donna. “What’s this for?” Donna asked.

“Put it on your left ring finger. You wear no rings to mark you as a wife,” Rose explained. “Proof seems safer at this point.” Donna nodded and slid the ring on her finger.

“It fits well,” she commented. She brought Rose’s plate to her and then she and the Doctor sat at the table to eat. The meal was simple but tasted very good. No more than fresh sourdough bread and dark colored fruit preserves, an egg in an egg cup and a bit of cheese.

Once they were finished the Doctor dropped a kiss on Rose’s forehead and made his way out of the suite and into the house proper. He followed his nose and found his way to the kitchen where he found Torshawn and Vida. He paused in the hallway before entering the room, catching the middle of their conversation.

“…said he would consider Erinnah.”

“But will he? She’s not safe and already we’ve lost Ezra. I can’t bear to lose another child,” Vida said.

“It is the way of things. It has always been the way of things.”

“It is wrong!”

“Hush, woman. Perhaps if he does not take her to wife he will at least take her away, get her out of this forsaken place before she falls prey to the beasts.”

The Doctor backed away down the hall then with a jaunty whistle he strode forward into the kitchen, his mind going a mile a minute as he tried to parse out what was not being said. “Good morning,” he said with a smile to Vida.

She acknowledged his greeting with a gentle smile and a nod, nothing in her appearance betraying the fear he’d heard in her voice just a moment earlier.

“Ready to visit the hunters?” Torshawn asked him.

“Indeed I am. And my women are done with their breakfast if you want to send someone in for the dishes,” he said.

“I’ll send Erinnah back in a few moments,” Vida replied softly.

Torshawn stood and strode to a coat rack that held winter gear. As the Doctor reached for his black parka the medic stayed his hand. “Wear this,” he said, handing the Doctor a brightly colored parka. “Only unmarried men and women wear black. Children and married people wear color.”

“But my coat--.”

“Please, Doctor. Respect our custom in this.” With reluctance he took the garish orange gear Torshawn handed to him. He frowned a moment as his mind tried to gather fragments together, but Torshawn’s firm, “Come, along,” broke his concentration. And the man kept up an incessant stream of chatter all the way to the communal lodge.

Once there the Doctor stepped inside the well lit hall. One by one every villager in the room turned to look at him. The air was heavy with secrets and silence, then it was suddenly broken by the gesture of an old man, beckoning him close. “We don’t get many visitors here. Welcome to the village of Phobos.”

The Doctor’s eyes went wide.


Chapter Twenty-one:  Strange Customs

A light knock on the door caused Donna to rise from her position by Rose. “Do you have him okay?” She murmured to Rose, who was feeding the baby on the injured side of her body.

“Yeah. I think so.” Donna walked over to the door and opened it.

“Hello,” she said to the girl standing there. “Erinnah, wasn’t it?” The girl nodded at her and entered the room, her eyes widening in consternation as she saw Rose feeding Dare.

“The babe isn’t yours?” she said to Donna, startled. “But father said Rose was pregnant. How do you--?” She broke off, confusion clear on her face.

“How do I what?” Donna asked softly.

“You are the older of his wives, aren’t you?”

“I’m older than Rose, yes,” Donna agreed.

“Do you have children with him?” Erinnah asked.

“No, I don’t.”

“And he keeps you as wife?”

“Our culture is different. A woman doesn’t have to have children just because she is married,” Donna explained. “Do you?”

Erinnah nodded. “We must. If we haven’t quickened within the first year of marriage they put us back in black coats.”

“Black coats?” Donna asked, puzzled.

Erinnah suddenly looked scared. “I shouldn’t have said that. I need to get back to the kitchen. I just came for the tray.” She hurried over to the table and picked up the remains of the breakfasts.

“Erinnah?”

The girl stopped just inside the door. “What?”

“What’s wrong in this place? What are you so afraid of?”

The girl turned back and shot a frightened look at Donna. “Everything,” she whispered and fled back to the kitchen.

Donna shut the door and turned back to Rose. “Now that was unsettling.”

“She’s scared half out of her mind,” Rose said.

“I’m getting a very bad feeling about this place. I think when the Doctor comes back we should leave. We can make a stretcher and drag you back to the TARDIS on it if we have to,” Donna said.

“Let’s see what the Doctor finds out, first,” Rose said. “If he can get to the bottom of this, we may find we’ve been overreacting.”

“Maybe.” Donna moved to look out the window. She bit her lip. If she had to lay personal odds, it was more likely that he’d find out something awful.



“Village of Phobos?” the Doctor repeated. “Village of Fear? Why’s it called that?”

“Phobos leads us,” replied the old man. “I am Deimos, Chieftain of this village.”

This time the Doctor managed to keep his expression neutral. Fear ruled by Dread did not bode well for whatever secret the villagers were keeping.

“Is that your name?” the Doctor asked shrewdly, “Or your title?”

“My title. But it is the name I took when I became Chieftain.”

“Ah. I’m the Doctor,” the Doctor said.

“Is that your title or your name?” returned the leader, his faded eyes blurred by cataracts still managed to twinkle at the Doctor.

“My name, actually.”

“I understand you have some questions for me?” the old man asked.

“I have questions for the hunters,” the Doctor said bluntly, his voice ringing out across the hall. A startled hush swept the room. “I want to know why my pregnant wife was shot by a hunting party from this village.”

“I am Formido. No one was shooting at your wife,” said a man with a strong resemblance to the Chieftain. He looked to be around 45 years of age. Perhaps a son.

“I have an arrow stained with my wife’s blood that begs to differ,” the Doctor said harshly.

“The arrow was not meant for your wife. She was not what was aimed at. She merely got in the way. The hunt was for…a beast.”

“And what manner of beast have you here that resembles my wife?” pushed the Doctor.

The man’s eyes did not meet his. “There is no beast that resembles your wife. Again, she was not what was aimed at.”

“Why does that do little to reassure me?”

“We are not in the business of reassurance, Doctor,” Formido said tightly. “We simply hunt when we must.”

“And did you ever track and kill your so-called beast?”

“The hunt resumes tomorrow at first light,” Formido answered. “It was only delayed due to your…mishap.”

“I’d like to come along,” the Doctor said flatly.

“It is against our custom. No outsiders may enter the hunt without sacrifice.”

“Sacrifice? You offer ritual sacrifices?” The Doctor was surprised. He’d seen no hint of that, no altars, no ritualistic behaviors.

“You misunderstand. The sacrifice is in the giving up of something most dear to your heart,” Formido explained. “It is the only way an outsider may share in the hunt.”

“If you would like to give up your second wife, a place can be arranged for you here and you may enter the hunt,” said a second man.

“I think not,” said the Doctor sharply. “I will give up neither of my women.”

“Then you may not join the hunt,” said the Chieftain. “Now enough of this!” He clapped his hands together. “We have a visitor. Let us make merry.” Music began to play and with a look of reluctance from some of the villagers, a space cleared in the middle of the hall. Young men and women dressed in black began to dance.

The music was discordant; it’s harmonies clashing, at times almost wailing, the sounds of grief. Then as the melodies soared above the unsettling harmonies, it was as if laughter covered over and tried to stamp out crying. The Doctor did not like it, nor did he like the dance.

He watched as the bodies wove around each other and there was much in the steps that hinted at violence and domination. The dancers did not smile, not once that he noticed, and the end result of the display was a coldness that settled like a fist in the Doctor’s stomach.

When he could no longer bear to look at the dancers he let his eyes wander the room. It was odd that the older the person in the hall, the more favorably they looked upon the exhibition with smiles and laughter. But as age decreased, the expressions were often immobile, and on occasion downright sad.

The oldest of the children, dressed in bright colors, looked scared but faced the dancing head on. The younger ones often turned their eyes away from the display altogether, some hiding in their mothers’ skirts, others playing quiet games against the walls, still others simply staring off into space.

Whatever this village’s secret, it was one that was feared most by youth. When at last the performance ended, Torshawn appeared at the Doctor’s elbow. “The Doctor’s wife has requested his presence,” he said apologetically to the Chieftain.

“By all means, go to her,” the Chieftain waved his hand expansively. “When she is healed we will throw a celebration in her honor.”

“That’s not necessary,” said the Doctor.

“It is custom,” said Deimos firmly. “It will be done.” The Doctor nodded his head minutely and then followed Torshawn from the room. Erinnah was waiting at the outside door of the hall.

“Is Rose okay?” he asked the girl, turning the full force of his gaze on her.

“She is fine,” said Torshawn before Erinnah could speak. “You simply looked uncomfortable during that…display.” It was clear that the medic found the whole thing distasteful. “No, I would like to discuss my daughter’s application to you for third wife.”

The Doctor’s eyes flicked to Erinnah and then back to Torshawn as they made their way back to the other man’s home. “She will be of age soon and by custom, needs to marry right away.”

“The customs of your village begin to disturb me,” said the Doctor. Torshawn gave him a hard look and although the man said nothing, it appeared that he might very well agree with him.

“My life is one of travel. If I were to accept Erinnah’s application, it is likely you would never see her again. We would be gone from this place, this planet,” the Doctor said.

“If she is safely away from here, then all the better,” said Torshawn.

The Doctor stopped in his tracks and turned on Torshawn. "Why are you all so frightened? What beast rampages here?"

"I told you, Doctor. There are no beasts here. Only men."

“What is going on in this place? Why did the hunters lie to me about a beast?” he demanded.

Torshawn looked torn but he shook his head. “If I could tell you, I would. But I cannot risk the lives of my family. I’ve lost too much already.”

“Change starts with one man standing up and being willing to fight,” the Doctor said.

“Perhaps it does. But I am not that man.” Torshawn trudged ahead through the snow and with a puzzled frown the Doctor held out his arm to Erinnah. She took it with a grateful smile and they headed back towards the medic’s home, all but one of them unaware they were being watched from behind the trees.

Ch. 22&23:  http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/92542.html