POLLUX • Doctor Who

Chapter Five, Starry Night

Chapter five, Starry Night

(I highly recommend this song, especially when if you liked the Doctor Who episode 'Vincent and the Doctor'.)

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The grass felt cold and soothing against the skin on the back of my hands and my neck as we laid down on the ground, tickling me ever so slightly. I was laid between Vincent and Amy, the painter gently stroking the back of my hand as it held his.

"We're so lucky to still be alive in this beautiful world. Look at the sky, it's not dark and black and without character. The black is in fact deep blue." The beautiful words of the most artistic man to wander the earth, were like soft music to my damaged ears. "And over there, lighter blue. And blue in through the blueness and blackness, and the wind swirling through the air. And they're chaining, burning, bursting through." The man sat up, telling us of the wonders he saw.

And I couldn't help but feel like I wasn't as alone as before anymore. Because he could see, what was my home. He could see what I had experienced hundreds of years ago, the beauty of the stars at night. He saw it in the light that I see it, and for that I truly admired him.

"The stars, can you see how they roar their light? Everywhere we look, complex magic of nature blazes before our eyes." And I could see it, at least I think I could see it. Because his words described what a starry night was to me, and it brought tears to my eyes.

"I've seen many things my friend, but you're right." The smile in the Doctor's words was so evident. He had heard the wonderful words of Vincent Van Gogh, he'd be a fool not to smile. "Nothing quite as wonderful as the things you see."

Vincent turned to me, holding my hand close to his face. "I will miss you terribly." He stroke his thumb over my knuckles, tracing the small scar that I didn't even know I had. "Ophelia, such a clever and quiet girl. I haven't heard many words from you but the ones I've heard.. haven't failed to keep me awestruck." The words he spoke warmed me up inside, the tears finally falling as I squeezed my eyes shut. I didn't want this moment to go away.

"I cannot stay with you, like I am right now. But I can stay with you in another way." I sat up gently, earning curious looks from all three, but mostly from the timelord on the other side of our little circle. Vincent sat up with me, my hand still in his.

"What do you mean? How are you to stay with me?"

"I can show you Opheliadus." I whispered, making the Doctor sit straight up in what almost looked like fear. But he was stopped by Amy placing her hand on his arm. "And I can show you more than that. And I think you can take it, because the way you see the world is beyond how even I see it."

"Ophelia, I don't think that's a good idea," the Doctor said carefully. He acted like I'd give him information that would make him go insane. It was easy to assume that, if you had never experienced the true feeling of the stars' beauty.

"Shh.." I looked over at him, my finger placed over my lips. "It's not as dangerous as you think it is." The gentle squeeze on my hand made me turn back to Vincent, the painter looking intrigued and excited.

"How can you show me something I can't see?" He asked, his head tilted to the side. I laid down again, motioning for him to lay down next to me as I freed my hand from his grasp.

"You start with the brightest star you can see in the sky." I raised my hands in the air, my finger tracing the air where I could see the brightest star on the night sky. "You follow the three closest stars that form a line, and let your focus turn to them. If you really want to see it, it will be in the corner of your eye. It's always been there, right in front of you. But it is hidden to the mind that doesn't want to see it." Following my own instructions, my vision was soon filled with the bright stars I called home, the pink mist and shimmering constellations that simply were hidden in plain sight. And apparently, Vincent could see them to. The gasp that left his mouth gave it away.

"I have never seen anything like it.." he whispered, tearing up next to me.

"If you care to listen, and pay attention to them, the stars will sing to you. Not in the musical way that you know song, but they will sing to your soul. Like the water will sing for you in a still ocean, soundless yet so loud. And I think that you can hear it like I do, if you listen close enough." I whispered, looking over at the Doctor who was staring in awe. Maybe I wasn't so lonely after all.

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The Doctor stood by the TARDIS control panel, his head bowed down as he rested on his hands that were pressed down on the metal surface. Amy and Ophelia had fallen asleep hours ago, but he couldn't even relax when he was by himself.

Ophelia had been on his mind constantly since the moment by the starry sky, and it got even worse as he had seen how humble and careful she was around the vulnerable Vincent as they had shown him the gallery. He couldn't quite put a word on what he thought of her. And perhaps, it was just that thought that he was trying to figure out. The Krafayis had been completely calm in her presence, even when it was scared of everything around him as he couldn't see. It had stopped by her, and it was calm.

It was no secret that the people of Lavone had an easy time with animals. There was something within them that simply spoke to nature, something calm and harmonic. But a Krafayis.. they were predators. Violent beasts.

And the way that she had been around Vincent, so careful yet understanding of what he felt. She was everything that he had heard of and read about of Pollux, yet he knew that there was something more to her. And he wanted nothing more than to know what it was.

The Doctor had never been so frustrated before. She was like an open book, completely see-through. Yet he couldn't figure out a single thing about her. He raised his balled up fist and punched it down on the metal board, the pain stinging across his knuckles as he banged his hand against the hard cold surface.

Ophelia was special. Way more special than what she would show, more to her heritage than her body could give. But why was it that she radiated with energy greater than the sun? She looked like a goddess when she smiled, and she seemed to be even quicker on the mind than he was.

And one thing was for sure, the only thing that he knew about her. He wanted to keep her around.