My Mad Doctor

Chapter 20

The Doctor was silent for a long time, making me wonder if he was okay. He’d screamed and fought against the bars until Salaar popped into his cell and shut him up. I was glad, in a way. Hearing him scream and shout to get out was making me depressed. At least I could think in silence.

Oh, what a time I would have writing about all of this when I returned home. Sierra would be impressed. Crabs with invisible scales, planets with two suns and soft rocks? She’d think I’m on drugs.

I could see the words already forming in my head, but I didn’t want to write them down. Writing about him made everything seem so final. The last time I wrote, I was alone and he was travelling the stars. If I started writing, it would mean saying goodbye again. I couldn’t do that; not after all we’d been through.

I placed my hand on the wall gently. It was the only thing that separated him from I. If it wasn’t there, if those trillions of particles had chosen a different location, I could have touched him. I could be in his arms right now, if the science had been different.

But no, the wall was there, no matter how hard I willed it away. He was on one side, and I on the other. Somehow, I felt that this wall was more than just physical. Something held him back from me. For whatever reason, there was something blocking us from each other. No matter how hard I tried to break through, his walls were strong. I wasn’t sure if it was the fact that he was an alien and I was human, or if it was something else. He was damaged by the severity of his life, while I had hardly suffered any real tragedy. Of course my life had sadness, but nothing compared to his. He was broken and I was untouched. He was scarred and I was not. He didn’t want to hurt me.

I understood that, but he didn’t have to be so distant all the time. The only moment when I saw vulnerability were when I was close to death or had just survived a tragedy. I wish that he could open up more; let me in. I wish he’d-

“Excuse me, miss?” A voice drifted into my cell from the outside, startling me form my thoughts. I sat up and turned around, facing the door.

Jaqui stood, his head close to the bars and an excited look on his face. I couldn’t help but catch my breath at his beauty.

His skin was a deep purple, like the sunset right before all the light disappeared. His markings were a progression of horses running from his chest to his fingertips and down his legs. Black hair fell just to his shoulders, shaggier and more casual than the emperor’s. His eyes were a deep blue, nearly violet colour. His strong jaw and muscles indicated that he would have been considered handsome on Earth, so the beautiful colours just added to his magnificence.

“Yes?” I asked, bringing my knees up to my chest. He blushed, his cheeks turning a lighter shade of purple.

“Is it true what they say about you?” He questioned, his voice shy and timid. For someone so handsome, I’d assumed he’d be confident and arrogant. This was a nice improvement.

“And what do they say?” I asked, rather flirtatiously, by the way. If The Doctor was going to continue to ignore me whenever I brought up a serious discussion, I was going to have a little fun here.

Jaqui blushed again, a deeper shade than before. His stunning eyes refused to meet mine. I wished they would. They were breathtaking.

“They say that you are a great goddess, with eyes fashioned from the very heart of the seven stars. Your hair came from Mother Sun’s strands of light and no Villus stone could hope to be as soft as your skin.” It was my turn to blush, and blush I did. Jaqui seemed to grow more confident with every word, and he stared at me as if he believed these words truly.

“They say your laugh is more glorious than the bells of Cherin that ring from the mountain realms, and that Demeter men would fight to the death for a night with you.” My face couldn’t have been any redder when he said the last part. The way he said it, though, wasn’t sexual. He looked at me as if I was a goddess and he already loved me. That made me feel something inside.