Counting with Fairies Ch 7

Chapter 7

A Poikyo in rich purple clothing approached.  "Your name please," he asked quietly.

"I'm the Doctor and this is Sally Armstrong."

The Poikyo turned around and faced the center of the cave.  "Announcing the Doctor and Sally Armstrong!" he cried.

The two Poikyo with spears flanked the Doctor and Sally.  They began to fly further into the cave.  The Doctor understood and stepped forward, following the guards.  Sally was one step behind the Doctor.  They stopped when they were approached by three finely dressed Poikyo.  The one in the middle was dressed in a fine white gown and the two on either side were dressed in similar gowns, but they were light blue in color.  It was the Queen and her ladies in waiting.

"I am Queen Shai, ruler of the Poikyo."

The Doctor nodded his head, "Queen Shai, it is an honor to meet you."

The Queen lazily flew in a circle around the Doctor and Sally.  They stood quite still.  The Doctor knew better than to move suddenly in the presence of other unfamiliar species, especially their royalty.  One wrong move would find him with a fierce small spear stuck unpleasantly into his flesh.  So far Sally was showing similar common sense.

"They tell me you know our home planet," the Queen said as she finished her circle around her guests.

"I do," the Doctor said.  "I visited there once, a long time ago."

"And you, female?" the Queen addressed Sally, "Have you been to our home?"

"No, your majesty," Sally said.  She had never addressed a royal before and hoped her language was appropriate.  "I am from Earth and have never left the planet."

"I see," the Queen said. 

"You are far from home here on Earth," said the Doctor.  "How is it you have come so far? Why did you leave Bhafaigja?"

The queen chuckled, "It has indeed been a long time since you were on Bhafaigja if you do not know why we left.  But right now, I am the one asking questions and you are the ones giving the answers."  She flew and stopped in front of the Doctor's face.  She studied him for a moment before continuing.  "You Doctor are not from Earth?"

"No, I'm from a planet in the constellation Kasterborous.  You can see Kasterborous from Bhafaigja."

"Kasterborous?  Then we are both a long way from home."  the Queen said.  The Doctor nodded his head.  "Doctor, many years ago, Bhafaigja was hit by a large meteor.  It set off a chain reaction of events that destroyed our planet.  Our kind was facing extinction."

"I am sorry to hear about your home," the Doctor said.  "How did you end up here, on Earth?"

"We were in our final days.  Some of the other species found ways to leave the planet.  We begged they take us too, but we could find no one with passage enough for our species.  We reached the end of our hope.  Our homes and food had been destroyed.  We found one creature with a space ship.  He agreed to take us with him, to his home planet, but on one condition.  Once the new planet was reached, he wanted us to use our power to erase his memory."

"What?" the Doctor cried out.  "Why did he want that?"

"He said he had seen too much.  His memories haunted him.  We did not question.  He was willing to help my people.  I agreed to his terms.  The whole population of the Poikyo went aboard his ship.  True to his word, the man took us away.  Unfortunately, the ship suffered some damage while leaving Bhafaigja's gravitational pull.  The damage was to his engines.  In the end, it took us two of our years to make the journey.  Half of our population died on the journey.  We are all that is left."

"Half?" Sally exclaimed.  "That's terrible."

"Indeed.  We arrived here several weeks ago.  We kept our promise and used the power of the Poikyo to erase the man's memory.  He went away and we have not seen him since.  Now, we are here.  We are grateful to be alive and away from Bhafaigja, but now we are stuck in an unfamiliar place with hostile natives."  The Queen snarled on the last words.

"Ah, yes, the local fairies.  I wanted to talk to you about them," the Doctor began.

"You have been giving aid to them?"  the Queen yelled.

"I spoke with them.  I heard their side of the story."

"If you aid them, you are an enemy to us!"  The whole of the Poikyo population yelled in response to their queen's pronouncement.  They closed in on the Doctor and Sally.

"Now wait a moment," the Doctor said calmly, but with authority, "I am on no one's side.  I am like you.  I don't belong to this planet.  I want to help you.  But you must understand, I like this planet and its inhabitants.  I do what I can to help them too."

"Why are the local fairies your enemy?"  Sally asked. "What is it they have done?"  Until now, Sally had been quietly watching.  It was obvious to her that the Doctor had a great deal of experience in these matters and since he and the Poikyo were aliens to Earth, he would understand them best, so she had let him do all the talking.

"After arriving we searched for our new home.  We were able to find this cave.  We were performing a protection ceremony when they came and interrupted us.  They disturbed the ceremony, entered my presence without permission and told us this cave is in their realm."  The Queen was quite agitated now.  The blue glow she emitted was growing bright, like a blue star. 

"Queen Shai, they do not know your customs," the Doctor said, "and yes, this cave is probably in their realm,"

He was interrupted by the very angry Queen, "You take their side!  You are an enemy!"

"Ouch!" the Doctor and Sally cried out at the same time.  The guards that were on either side of them had jabbed their spears into the Doctor and Sally's arm.  The spears didn't go deep, but had drawn blood from both of their victims.

"Now wait just a moment, Queen Shai!" the Doctor yelled.  "You are on their planet.  It is their customs that should be observed.  I'm sure they didn't mean harm.  They were only protecting their homes.  Let me help you!"  He felt a sharp spear poking at his neck.  "I can help you.  There are millions of worlds out there.  I can take you to any of them."

"I will not lose the rest of my people on another space journey."

"My spaceship isn't like that.  It would take almost no time at all and would be very safe,"  The Doctor said.  That was mostly true.  Most of the time he could get the TARDIS where he wanted it.  Still the Poikyo and Sally didn't need to know his piloting track record.

"No!" the Queen shouted.  "I have taken a liking to this place.  The cave is a good home base.  We prefer trees, but as soon as we conquer the fairies, we will have their forests as well.  The village will provide us our entertainment and the occasional slave child we require.  No Doctor, we will stay.  We will wage war on the fairies, defeat them and make a very nice place for ourselves."

"It doesn't have to be this way," the Doctor pleaded.  "You don't have to go to war.  Let me help you find a new home."

"We have a new home," the Queen replied in a smug voice.  She turned and flew away.  Her blue glow showed the Doctor there were chamber and tunnels that led out of the main cavern.  She began to enter one of the tunnels when she turned around and faced the Doctor and Sally again.  "Lock them up." She smiled and disappeared into a side chamber.

Chapter 8

Counting with Fairies Ch 6

Chapter 6

Sally followed the Doctor after a quick nod to the fairies.  She wasn't sure what she was suppose to do.  Neither the fairies or the Doctor had spoken much to her.  She didn't mind because she wasn't sure what to say to the fairies anyway.  The Doctor had promised her the Pascaline and instead she was being introduced to fairies and alien fairies.  And the Doctor had said something about being from another planet.  She decided it was time to ask some questions she had been thinking of.

"Doctor?"

"Hmm? What?  Oh, Sally," the Doctor seemed surprised  to see her.  "I'm sorry.  I got thinking about the Poikyo and forgot, um, everything else."  He wasn't going to admit he had forgotten about her after his visit with the fairies.

"I see.  It's alright.  May I ask you some questions while we walk?"

"Yes of course," the Doctor answered.

"We've been able to communicate very well with the locals.  I don't know your education, but I know mine and I know that I cannot speak more than ten words in French.  How is it we are talking to them and why do they sound like they are speaking English?"

The Doctor smiled, "An excellent question Sally.  It's the TARDIS.  It does all the translating for us."

"How is that possible when it is, well, where ever we left it and we are here?"

"Telepathy."

Sally scrunched her face, "Telepathy?  That's not a very scientific answer."

"How about this, then, it is a highly advanced technology from your future."

"Don't get smart with me, Doctor," Sally said.

"Sorry," the Doctor said apologetically.  He didn't mean to get snappy.

"It's alright.  If the answer to that question is your time machine's telepathic, then I'll accept that.  For now," she grinned at the Doctor and he gave her a mischievous half smile in return.

"Next question Doctor.  You said you are from another planet.  Is this true?"

"It is," the Doctor answered.

"Is it one of the planets in our solar system?"  Sally asked.  She felt like she was playing a game of 20 questions with the Doctor.

"No.  My home planet is in a different section of the universe."

"Will you tell me the name of your planet?" Sally asked.

"Gallifrey."

"Gallifrey," Sally repeated.  "I like the sound of that name.  So are you and your people human?"

"Human, like Earthlings?  No, we're not, but we are, as you can see, humanoid.  Outwardly, we look very much alike."  The Doctor really hated explaining these things, but that was the hazard of taking on a new companion.   Molly had never asked these questions, but there had never really been the time either.  They had spent their entire time together running from the Daleks.  There had been little time for talk.  Thankfully, Sally didn't seem too worked up over the answers and was accepting them fairly well.  It seemed to him that she was simply getting the answers now and she would mull the meanings around in her head before asking anymore.

"And these Poikyo are like fairies, but on another planet?" Sally asked.

"Yes," the Doctor answered.

Sally paused in her question asking for a few moments while they walked on, each step bringing them closer to a large group of rocks and boulders.

"Have you been to many planets, Doctor?"

"Yes."

"So then your TARDIS is more than just a time machine,"  Sally said.

"Right.  It is a spaceship and time machine."

"And these other planets you've been to, are there humanoids and fairies on many of them?"  Sally  asked.

"Many of them, yes," the Doctor answered her.  "There are even some planets where the fairies are the dominate species.

"Really?  That's," Sally paused looking for the right words, "wonderfully fun to think about."  She smiled.

The Doctor kept walking towards the group of rocks and he could even see a small cliff.  Just before they reached the outer rocks that made up the rock formations, Sally popped one more question on him.

"Are mermaids real too?"

The Doctor stopped and looked at her.  It was a highly unscientific question from Sally.  "Of course mermaids are real.  They can be found on many planets in the universe."

"Earth?"

"Yes, on Earth too."  The Doctor answered.

Sally's eyes grew wide and a smile spread across her face.  "I'm so glad.  I loved mermaid stories as a child and hoped they were real.  I'm glad to know they are."

The Doctor and Sally stood grinning at each other for a few moments.  The Doctor knew the most important thing a scientist could do was keep a strong child-like imagination.  Without an imagination, it is near impossible for a scientist to dream up new theories, new subjects to explore, new ways of doing things.  It was easy to lose that imagination when your everyday was filled with mathematical calculations or mundane problems, and in Sally's case as director of the Ides Scientific Institute, she also had to deal with board meetings and budget problems.  Not good for the imagination at all.

Nope, these fairies and finding out mermaids are real was probably just what Sally needed, the Doctor thought to himself.  He hoped he was refueling the fire of her imagination so when she went back to the institute, her newly fed imagination would spur on many scientific breakthroughs for her.

All these thoughts flashed through the Doctor's brain in less than a moment of time.  He returned his thoughts to the situation at hand.  The Poikyo.  They were headed for an all out fairy war and the Doctor knew that would not be pretty.  More than one species could be wiped out in a situation like that.  No, he was going to do his best to help both sides.

"Do you think the Poikyo are here?" Sally asked, looking up at the boulders and cliffs.

The Doctor nodded. "Yes, I believe that they are."

"So do we announce our arrival to them or do we just try and find them?  If we try to find them, we might surprise them, which could be to our advantage, but it might make them more hostile and we might never get to explain our propose."

The Doctor was liking Sally more and more.  She didn't just ask 'what now?'  She had already thought up two scenarios and determined which course of action would be best.  "More than likely," the Doctor said, "they have already spotted us and are watching from a distance.  I think the best thing would be to acknowledge them and let them come to us."

"Well, you probably know best, Doctor.   You seem to have diplomatic experience in dealing with other intelligent species."

The Doctor nodded.  He looked at the rocks and saw an area that seemed most likely to have a cave.  He climbed up into the boulders.  Sally followed him.

"Hello Poikyo from the planet Bhafaigja.  I am the Doctor.  I seek conference with you.  My companion and I wish to know if you are in trouble.  Are you stranded here on Earth?  I can help you, if you are."

The Doctor and Sally stood still on the rocks and waited.  It was several minutes they stood in silence.  Sally wondered if perhaps they had heard the Doctor at all.  Perhaps they weren't in this rock area.  The Doctor's finer senses picked up faint activity.  Finally, two creatures approached the Doctor and Sally.

The two creatures were very fairy like in some respects.  They were about the same size and flew with wings.  However, these creatures were blue.  Sally had not expected that.  They both carried spears the length of their bodies.  They looked quite fierce.

"Hello," the Doctor said.  His voice was quiet and non-threatening, but confident.

"You know of our home planet?" one of them asked.

"Yes, I do.  I've been there.  Your forests are lovely there.  I especially liked the blue Botham tree.  It bore the most amazing fruit."

The two Poikyo looked at each other.  One of them nodded.  The other spoke, "Lay down your weapons.  You are granted the privilege of meeting the queen, but you must be unarmed."

Sally carefully lifted her hands in front of her to show they were empty.  "I carry no weapon," she said.

"Neither do I," said the Doctor, showing his hands in a similar fashion.  "We are unarmed and at your mercy.  Our desire is to help you."

"Follow us then," the two Poikyo spoke at the same time.  They flew towards the rock cliff.  There was a small opening in the cliff.  The Poikyo few into it.  The opening was big enough for the Doctor and Sally to fit through, but they would have to crawl.

"Is there room for us, once we are inside the cave?" the Doctor called into the opening.

"There is," came the reply.

Sally normally wasn't claustrophobic, but she wasn't comfortable with the idea of crawling into a cave without being able to see what was on the other side.  She watched as the Doctor got down on all fours and crawled in.  Sally followed.  It was hard to climb through in her dress, but once she had made it to the other side, the Doctor took her by the hands and helped her up.  Sally was amazed to find she was standing in an enormous cavern.  Sally looked around and saw at first only the blue Poikyo, but as her eyes adjusted to the dim light in the cave, she began to notice the walls of the cave.  Beautiful paintings of animals adorned the walls.

"Doctor," Sally whispered, "are those pre-historic cave markings?"

"Yes.  Authentic, undiscovered and undisturbed."

"Incredible," Sally breathed.

Continue to Chapter 7

Counting with Fairies Ch 5

Chapter 5

Sally watched the young girl with the heavy sack of flour on her back and the bulging baby belly in the front.  "Should she be carrying that heavy sack on her back when she is expecting?"  Sally asked.

"Probably not," the Doctor said.

"Are you really the kind of doctor what would know about babies?"  Sally asked.

The Doctor laughed, "No, I'm not, but I know many things and the basics of human reproduction is among my knowledge.  In this period of history, births are attended by local mid-wives.  Only the very rich can afford doctors.  Marie-Claire had me at a bit of a disadvantage.  She had a doctor sitting next to her and she decided to take advantage of that by asking my opinion.  I wasn't going to take the time to explain otherwise and disappoint her."

"So you lied to her?"

"No, of course not.  As soon as that man on the road accused her of being a bad omen, I scanned her.  She is fine and so it the baby."

"What do you mean you scanned her?"  Sally asked.

The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and showed it to her.  "I scanned her with this.  It's a sonic screwdriver.  Very handy little gadget."

"I don't guess you are going to explain to me what that really is or how it works."  The Doctor smiled a half-smile at her.  "Technology from my future, right?"  Sally smiled.

"Exactly," the Doctor answered.

He held the sonic screwdriver out in front of him and pressed a button.  It lit up and started to make a humming noise. He pointed it at a group of trees and then looked at the tiny display.  He nodded his head.  He then looked around him, up and down the road, making sure that they were alone.  He leaned in and spoke to the carriage.  "Hello?  Are you alright?  I'm a friend and will not harm you.  Can I help?"

The Doctor sat very still for a few moments.  Sally held her breath.  She wondered if perhaps fairies were real after all.  She about jumped out of her skin when she heard the tiniest voice coming from the carriage.

"And the female?" the voice said.

"She will not harm you either,"  the Doctor said.

The door to the carriage opened and out stepped the tiniest figure Sally could have ever imagined.  A fairy.  A real live fairy.  She recalled a book she had as a child with a fairy on the cover.  This fairy didn't look at all like the fairy on her book cover did.  Sally guessed the fairy was five inches high.  She was dressed in a regal gown made of daisy petals.  Her hair was purple and in a long plait down her back.  She looked quite disheveled.

"I'm sorry for all the rough movement you must have experienced while I carried you.  I was as gentle as I could be," the Doctor said.

"I appreciate that.   Thank you for rescuing me from those peasants on the road.  They would have killed me for sure," the tiny fairy said.  "I am Lady Columbine, one of Queen Oona's ladies-in-waiting."

"It is an honor to meet you Lady Columbine.  I am the Doctor and this is Sally," the Doctor introduced.  He bowed his head to the fairy.  Sally followed his example.  "What happened Lady Columbine?  Why did your carriage crash?"

The fairy, which had been standing on the ground since emerging from the carriage, unfolded purple and green wings and few up to the Doctor's face.  "Here is not a good place to talk.  It is too open, too dangerous. Follow me."

And with that, the fairy flew off like a shot, leaving a light trail of purple dust behind her.  The Doctor jumped up and began running after the trail of fairy dust.  Sally stood up and tried to run, but momentarily tripped on her dresses.  She wasn't use to wearing long skirts.  They just weren't practical or stylish back home.  Holding onto the skirt and lifting them to her knees, she was able to run.  She was glad for the trainers she was wearing.  She couldn't see the trail of purple dust, but she could see the Doctor and she ran after him.

The Doctor reached the grove of trees and ran into them.  When Sally reached the spot where she had seen the Doctor go into the trees, she slowed her run down.  She couldn't see him anywhere.

"Doctor," she called, "Doctor where are you?"

"Over here, Sally!" she heard him call back to her.  She followed his voice further into the trees and found him standing in a small clearing.  On the ground at his feet was a circle of mushrooms.  As Sally drew near, the Doctor held out his arm.  "Don't step into the circle, Sally."

"It's a fairy ring," Sally said in surprise.  She had never seen one before and being a scientist, she had always found a good scientific answer to such anomalies as fairy rings.  But here was one and standing in the middle were several fairies.

"Yes.  The ring is the gateway to their kingdom.  You and I cannot enter without harming ourselves, so we must be careful," the Doctor explained.

Columbine was sitting on a large mushroom.  Two other fairies were bringing her a tray with several gold cups filled with a golden liquid.  Columbine took one of the cups from the tray and took a sip.  "Thank you Lady Rain, this is exactly what I needed.  Please, take a cup to my rescuers."

Lady Rain unfolded her blue wings and flew first to the Doctor.  She held the tray out and the Doctor took the tiny cup in his fingers.  The fairy then flew to Sally and Sally took the other cup.  She and the Doctor lifted the tiny cups to their lips.  It was hardly enough liquid in them to wet their tongues, but its effect was immediate.  It made Sally feel warm and happy.  The Doctor smiled and thanked Lady Rain.

"That was wonderful," the Doctor said, returning the cup to the tray.  "Thank you for sharing your nectar with us."  Columbine smiled.

"Nectar?" Sally asked.

"Yes," the Doctor explained.  "It's the fairies specialty.  It's like tea for them; very calming. However for us it is a little different.  It isn't alcohol, but you might feel a little giddy"

Sally smiled.  "I already do, but in a nice way."  She turned to the fairy, "Thank you."  Sally put her cup back onto the tray.

"Now," said the Doctor, getting down to business, "What is going on?  Oh! I almost forgot," the Doctor reached into his pocket and gently pulled the tiny horse out.  It was still wrapped in his handkerchief.  "I'm afraid he seems badly injured."

Columbine flew up to the Doctor's hand and looked at the horse.  "My poor Sterling."

The horse moved a bit at the sound of its owner's voice and whinnied.  Sally noticed for the first time that it was a winged horse.  It's wings had been folded and were the exact color of his fur.

"Please place him into the ring," Columbine instructed.  The Doctor unwrapped the horse and gently laid him in the center of the circle.  A moment later another fairy popped up in the ring, right next to the horse.  The fairy bent down and examined it.

"Do not worry Lady Columbine, Sterling will be healed."  The fairy tossed some golden dust onto the horse and a moment later they had both disappeared.

Sally was more amazed with each passing moment.  Things she never dreamed to be real were happening right before her.  She looked at the Doctor, but he didn't seem so impressed and awestruck as Sally felt.  It was as if he conversed with fairies all the time and he was all business.

"Now Columbine, please tell me what is going on," the Doctor implored.

"My carriage was attacked.  Until recently, our society and life was quite normal.  Things were as they have been for the last thousand years.  Then, several moons ago, a new group of fairies arrived.

Lady Rain made a sound of disgust, interrupting Columbine's story.  "Lady Rain, please," Columbine scolded.

My apologies, Lady Columbine," Lady Rain said, looking properly chastened. 

"She is quite right to scoff, though," Columbine said.  "They are fairy like, but they are not proper fairies.  They call themselves Poikyo."

"Poikyo!" the Doctor cried.  "How in the universe did they get here?"

"You know of the Poikyo?" Columbine asked.

"Well, yes, just a little bit.  They live on the planet Bhafaigja. They are the fairies of their world," the Doctor said.

"You mean fairies are aliens?" Sally was astounded.

Columbine, Rain and the other fairy, which had been quiet up to this point all flew into Sally's face shouting at her.

"How dare she?" Columbine screamed.

"Wait, wait, wait," the Doctor said.  He put an arm protectively across Sally's chest.  Sally leaned back away from the angry fairies.

"Forgive me!" Sally said, "I did not think before I spoke.  I meant no insult."

The three fairies backed away from Sally.  They hovered for a moment, watching Sally with angry faces.  Finally Columbine flew back to the circle of mushrooms and sat down on the biggest on.  The two other fairies followed her.  Sally took a deep breath of relief.

"Of course fairies are not aliens," the Doctor explained.  "They are native to Earth, just as humans are.  But, just as you and I look alike, despite being from two different planets and being two difference species, so are fairies and Poikyo.  They are fairies of their worlds, similar in some ways, but very different in others."

Sally couldn't believe what she was hearing.  The Doctor was from another planet?  That explained a few things.  Sally started to say something, but one look from the Doctor kept her quiet.  Now wasn't the time to ask him about aliens.  She added it to the mental list of questions she was coming up with for him to explain to her later.  Sally nodded her head in understanding.  "I see," she said.  "So how did the Poikyo end up here?"

"That's a good question," the Doctor said.  He was relieved she seemed to understand which questions were appropriate and which ones were not.  Except for the one outburst, her scientific curiosity was more in charge than her human curiosity.  The Doctor was only slightly familiar with the Poikyo.  On their own planet, they are the creatures of stories and legends, like fairies on Earth.  However, they were much more violent and aggressive than the troublemaking Earth fairies.  They didn't belong on Earth and the Doctor couldn't understand how they had managed to leave their home planet.

"We don't know where they came from or how they got here," Columbine answered Sally's question.  "All we know is that there has been nothing but trouble since they arrived."

"So the Poikyo arrived here several months ago and just began attacking you?"  The Doctor asked.

"That's about the whole of it.  We tried to talk to them, make friends with them, reason with them, but they would not cooperate.  They began to cause trouble in the village, more so than we do.  We make mischief," Columbine smiled, "but we are not mean to those who have caused us no harm.  We do not destroy.  There have been a few small fights and arguments with the Poikyo, but recently things have escalated.  They threatened our queen.  If they kill her, they will become our rulers and we their slaves.  We cannot permit that, so today a plan was set into action to protect our queen.  She has gone into hiding.  In order to distract the Poikyo from our queen, several of us went out in the royal carriages today, each headed in a different direction."

"You set up a clever diversion," the Doctor said.

"Yes, and as suspected and as we hoped, the Poikyo followed me.  They attacked my carriage," Columbine said.  "I don't know what happened to the other carriages and if they experienced my fate."

"What about your queen?" Sally asked.  "Did she make it safely into hiding?"

"I don't know.  I assume so.  If the Poikyo had her in their custody, we would know by now," Columbine said.  She looked Lady Rain and the other fairy for an answer, but they both shook their head.  They didn't know either.

"Yes, you're probably right.  You would know if they had the queen."  The Doctor rubbed his chin for a moment.  His eyes were staring at one of the mushrooms in the ring, lost in thought.  "I need to find the Poikyo and see if they need any help."

"You would give aid to our enemies?" Columbine shouted?

"I would not help them to harm you or capture your queen, Lady Columbine.  However, if they are stranded here, I can help them to get home.  I could take them away.  Then they could return to their normal life and you to yours."  The Doctor knew that an aggressive species like the Poikyo would only become more so if they were trapped in a place they didn't belong or want to be in.  He needed to find the Poikyo and get them off the planet before an all out fairy war began.  "Do you have any idea where the Poikyo are?"

"Not exactly.  From what we can tell, they have made a nearby cave their home.  At least, that is the direction most of their attacks have come from."  Columbine answered.

"Then I guess that is where we need to go next," the Doctor said.  He stood up. "Thank you, Lady Columbine for your hospitality.  I hope we meet again soon."

Lady Columbine flew up to the Doctor's face.  "Please Doctor, don't lead our enemies to us," she pleaded.

"I'll do my best," the Doctor said.  He knew he could make no such promise to never do something or let something happen, but he would do everything he could to not bring harm to the fairies.

"Doctor," Columbine said, "there is an oak tree alone in the field north of here.  Hanging from one of the lower limbs is a bell, disguised as an acorn.  If you ring it, a fairy will appear.  This way you can get a message to us without returning to a fairy ring.  If our enemies are watching you, they will not learn the locations of the entrances to our kingdom.  Remember Doctor, the oak tree to the north."

"I won't forget it," the Doctor bowed to the fairy, turned and left the clearing.

Continue to Chapter 6

Counting with Fairies Ch 4

Chapter 4

He took Sally by the hand and led her to the door of the TARDIS. 

"We're here, already?" Sally was surprised at how short of time it took to travel several hundreds of years.

He pulled open the door and they stepped out.  "Welcome to France, 1642," the Doctor said.

The grass was green beneath their feet and the landscape rolled with green hills.  Homesteads and animals could occasionally be seen.  Sally took a few tentative steps away from the TARDIS and looked around.  She watched a boy with a herd of sheep go past her.  He stared at the strangers and the blue box for several moments before moving on.

The boy had made Sally uncomfortable.  She looked down at her clothes.  The brown bell-bottom dress suit and boots she was wearing was fine for working in 1971, but it was probably highly offensive clothes for a female in 1642.  She turned back to the Doctor, "I stick out like a sore thumb."

He looked at her for a moment and then led her back into the TARDIS.  He pointed to a door off the console room.  "Third door to your right is the wardrobe.  I'm sure you can find something suitable to wear in there."

"What? A wardrobe?" Sally asked.

"I'm sure you can find some 17th century clothing in there, but find something plain to wear.  Nothing too upper class and make sure you have on comfortable shoes.  Something you can run in, if needs be."

"Run?  Are we planning on running?" Sally turned to face him.  "Do you expect trouble?"

"No, not expecting any," the Doctor said innocently, "but it's always best to be prepared."

Sally turned and went down the hall.  The Doctor set about tinkering at the console.  Seeing there wasn't much to do, he decided to change clothes too and went to his own room.  He returned to the console room sixty seconds later.  He sat down in his favorite chair and flipped through a book that had been sitting on the table next to the chair.  Why did women take so long to change?

Sally appeared in the console room several minutes later.  She seemed tangled up in her over-tunic.  "Doctor," she called to him, "how does this work?"

He went to her and helped her get the tunic on properly and then he tied the laces for her.  She smiled sheepishly and thanked him.  "I'm a scientist," she said.  "I never was interested or paid much attention to my history lessons.  I have no idea what women wore, but I found a book in the wardrobe on European fashions through the centuries.  I found a page on the 17th century fashion and I tried to copy it."

"You look fine.  What about shoes?" the Doctor asked.

Sally lifted her skirts up to her knees, exposing the trainers beneath them.  The Doctor smiled.  "Let's go!" he said.  He ran to the door and pulled it open.  Sally stepped out into the sun-filled French countryside.  The Doctor joined her and shut the TARDIS door behind him.

"Aren't you going to change clothes Doctor?"

"I already did," he said.

Sally saw no difference.  He was wearing the exact same thing as far as she could tell, blue pants and a  leather jacket.  The Doctor opened his jacket to expose the white v-neck shirt underneath.  "See, new shirt."

Sally was amused by him.  He headed off down the hill.  Sally jogged to catch him up and then kept pace with him.  She loved seeing the countryside.  Farms and livestock were the only things they saw for a while.  Soon they found a well traveled road that seemed to lead to a distant village.  They turned down it and headed towards the village.

"Doctor," Sally finally said as they walked down the road.  "This is quite lovely and I'm thrilled to be here, but I thought we were going to see Blaise Pascal and his Pascaline."

"He's around here somewhere," the Doctor casually said.

"Doesn't your time machine take you to those places so you don't have to wander about the countryside?"  Sally asked.

"Well, I didn't have very specific coordinates for the TARDIS to follow.  France, 1642, Blaise Pascal only gets us so far.  Now, if you had told me his address or neighborhood, I could have gotten us quite a bit closer," the Doctor answered.

"I see," Sally said.  "Live and learn."

"Exactly," the Doctor answered.  He was impressed with Sally.  Her questions weren't asked with a complaint, they were asked with a thirst for knowledge.  He was liking having a scientist with him.  They see the world differently and asked questions with the purpose of getting true answers.

"You said TARDIS.  Is that the name of your machine?"

"Yes, it stands for Time and Relative Dimensions in Space.  Oh, what do we have here?"  The Doctor nodded his head down the road slightly.  Sally looked where he indicated and saw a group of people huddled in a circle.  They seemed to be looking at the ground.

"Do you speak French, Doctor?" Sally asked, suddenly realizing that the few French phrases she knew wouldn't be enough to hold any kind of conversation in 17th century France.

"I can speak it well enough and don't worry, so can you."  They had almost reached the crowd.  "Just speak normally."

"But Doctor, I," Sally began.

"Trust me.  I'll explain later," he whispered at her.

"Good morning, friends," he said pleasantly.

They stood up quickly and regarded the strangers in front of them.  The Doctor took a step closer to see what everyone had been looking at moments before.

"This is interesting," he said.  Sally followed his gaze and looked at the ground.  She saw what looked like a child's toy carriage and horse.  The carriage was red and gold and ornately decorated.  She was about to dismiss it as nothing more than a child's toy lost on the road, when she saw the tiny brown horse move.  She inhaled quickly.  The toy horse was alive, but by the way it was laying on the ground, it was badly injured.

The Doctor pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, wrapped it around the horse.  With the horse in his right hand and the carriage in the left, he gently lifted them off the ground.

"Sir, that is a fairy carriage!  You shouldn't touch it," the younger man in the group said.

"Why not?" the Doctor asked.  It was too late anyway, he was holding it.

"Fairies are no good.  They will curse you!" the man said backing away from the Doctor.

"What? Curse me for helping it?  I'll take my chances.  Here, Sally, help me."  The Doctor gave Sally the carriage to hold while he gently freed the horse from its reigns.  The horse made a lot of noise, but it didn't struggle.  Once freed, the Doctor wrapped the horse in the handkerchief and stuck it into an inner breast pocket of his jacket.    He took the carriage from Sally and opened the tiny door.  He looked in, but saw no one and closed the small door again.  The Doctor wasn't convinced that the carriage was empty.  He had seen wisps' of purple dust when he opened the door.  He suspected a fairy was hiding inside the carriage somewhere.  "What happened here?"  he asked the group of people.

A young woman, Sally guessed was in her late teens, spoke up.  "I was coming back along the road from the mill when I saw it.  It was flying low to the ground and it seemed with great difficulty, when it suddenly fell to the ground, right at my feet."

"It's a bad omen," the one younger man said.  He pointed at the girls mid-section, "You had better pray that your child hasn't been cursed by the fairy who fell at your feet."

The girl's hands flew to her belly, which, Sally noticed was slightly enlarged by pregnancy.  "Oh dear!" she cried.

Sally went to the girl and put an arm around her shoulders.  "Don't worry," Sally said.  "I'm sure your baby is fine."

"Fairies are no good," the young man said.  "There's been trouble in the village and they say it has been caused by fairies.  I don't want anything to do with them."  The man walked off down the road towards the village.

The Doctor watched the man walk off.  Maybe now he could get some answers out of the girl with him gone.  "What happened after the carriage fell?"  he asked the girl.

"Well, I didn't know what to do.  I was about to pick it up when that man," she pointed at the figure who was walking away from them, "came up the road and stopped me."

"And we arrived shortly after that," the second man said.  He was older and was accompanied by an elderly white haired woman. 

The Doctor took careful notice of the people who had gathered at the site of the crash.  The young woman and this older couple were most likely peasants or poor tradesmen.  The man who had just left had been dressed a little nicer.  The Doctor guessed he was either a higher skilled tradesman or a low level politician in the village. 

"What will you do now sir?" the older man asked.

"Well, I think we should find the fairy this horse and carriage belong too," the Doctor said.

"Good luck with that," the man laughed.  "Fairies are near impossible to find and could cause you quite a bit of mischief if you do find happen to find them.  Come along Mother," the man held out his arm to the elderly lady and slowly led her down the road.

Sally's arm was still around the girls shoulders and judging by the way the girl's shoulders were shaking, Sally guessed that she was crying.  "What's your name?" Sally asked the girl.

"Marie-Claire," the girl answered.

"Well, I'm Sally and this is the Doctor.  Don't worry about what that man said.  You're going to be fine."

Sally sobbed, "What if the fairies are planning on taking my baby and leaving a changeling instead?  It would be such a disgrace.  Pierre would lose business with his customers and then we'd have no money and no way to care for the children."

Sally really didn't understand much about fairies and didn't believe they were real at all, although the tiny horse and carriage were strange.  The Doctor was looking around for a clue of any kind as to where the carriage might have come from.  Marie-Claire was still crying quietly.  He took Marie-Claire by the arm and led her to a near-by tree.  He helped her to sit down in the shade.  Sally sat next to her.  The Doctor reached into a pocket of his jacket and pulled out a leather pouch.  "Have some water, Marie-Claire.  You'll feel better." 

Marie-Claire took the pouch and began to drink.  The Doctor sat down between the two women and gently set the carriage in the grass.

"Feel better?" he asked the young girl.

Marie-Claire wiped some drops of water from her face, "Yes, thank you."

"What direction did the carriage fly from when you saw it?"  The Doctor asked.

She pointed in the direction of a grove of trees, "From over there."  Marie-Claire looked down at her stomach and laid her hands on the bulge.  She rubbed her stomach gently. "Are you really a doctor?"

The Doctor knew where this was headed.  It would just be easier to just agree than try to explain exactly what he was a doctor of.  He nodded.

"Do you think my baby has been cursed by the fairies?"

"No, I don't believe so.  I'd say your baby is doing very well."  The Doctor laid his hands on her belly and felt it.  He got a kick in the palm from a tiny foot. "Yes, your baby is very strong.  You felt it kick me just now."  Marie-Claire laughed.  "Now, don't worry about it anymore.  When you get home, try and get some rest. That is the best thing you can do."

"Thank you Doctor," Marie-Claire said.

"When is your baby expected to be born?" Sally asked. 

"In the fall.  The mid-wife said it would be in October," Sally explained.  "I hope it's a girl, but Pierre, that's my husband, he wants a boy."

"Well, that's natural for a father, isn't it?" Sally asked.

"Yes, but he has two sons already.  He and his first wife had two boys.  She died in childbirth with the second baby.  Boys are such noisy little things, but they make me laugh.  I'm hoping this one is a girl, but I don't dare tell that wish to Pierre."  Marie -Claire laughed.

The Doctor tried to bring the conversation back to the problem at hand.  He understood why this young girl was concerned for her child, but pregnant women made the Doctor slightly nervous.  For one thing, they couldn't run and he always seemed to be running.  He wanted to solve the fairy mystery.  "The first man you met on the road, he said there were some recent problems with the fairies?"  The Doctor asked.  "What do you know about that?"

Marie-Claire shook her head, "Not much.  I've heard a few stories from others.  Yves, the baker, said that some fairies came during the night and tore his bakery apart just a few days ago, and the butcher boy said that he saw a fairy ring not long ago in the woods there."

"Did you know that man?" the Doctor asked.

"No, if he is from the village, he lives in a different neighborhood.  I've not seen him before." Marie-Claire explained.

"Do fairies do that kind of thing?  Destroy personal property, I mean,"  Sally asked.

"Fairies are known to make mischief, but they don't often destroy things," the Doctor said, thoughtfully.

"How can you not know about fairies?" Marie-Claire asked Sally.

"Well, you don't often see them in London," Sally smiled.

"You're from London?"  Marie-Claire asked.  "I've heard it's a big town."

"Yes it is," Sally said.

"I've never left our village boundaries before, but next summer there will be a large fair on the other side of Rouen.  Pierre said we will go to the fair.  The baby will be big enough to travel by then.  I can't wait to go.  It will be so exciting."  Marie-Claire's enthusiasm made Sally laugh.

"I dare say it will," Sally said.

Marie-Claire took another sip of water before handing the pouch back to the Doctor.  "I had better be home.  My sister has my boys until I get back and I'm sure she is ready to send them home.  We take turns.  When she goes to the mill, I watch her young children and when I go to the mill, she keeps mine.  Thank you for the water, Doctor.  It was nice to meet you both."

The Doctor stood up and helped Marie-Claire up off the ground.  "Remember, try and get some rest today when you get back home."

"I will. Thank you Doctor."  She placed her hands on her back and stretched a bit before walking back to the road.  She picked up a large sack off the ground, hoisted it onto her back and started walking to the village.

Continue with Chapter 5