Winter Rose, Book 1

Losing Trust

"Doctor? You alright?" Win asked after a minute of the Doctor not moving or saying anything. Just staring into her eye. He blinked slowly and swallowed hard.

"I'm fine." He mumbled, seeming to force himself to look away from her right eye. Win raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not an idiot, Doc, I know that my right eye has an effect on others. Why do you think I hide it?" She asked him. The Doctor sighed, looking slightly guilty.

"It does, I wasn't expecting that. Took me a bit by surprise." He confessed as Win moved her hair back into place, once again hiding her golden eye from view. "But what about what Gwyneth said, do you know anything about that?" Win shook her head.

"The only thing I really know is that I've had a vision of BAD WOLF as well, but it was just the words. And, well, obviously I know about the seer's gift part. The other stuff I've never seen or heard before." She sighed thoughtfully. The Doctor hummed, also deep in thought.

"What strikes me as odd is she used the word Harbringer. That's not an English, or even Human word. That's Gallifreyan, the, umm, the language of my people." He murmured, wincing a bit when he mentioned his race. Win took a step closer to him, placing a hand on his arm.

"Does, does it have a meaning? Harbringer, I mean." She asked softly. The Doctor locked his eyes with hers.

"It means Winter. Being that she said The Harbringer. I guess she meant The Winter. Which would sound like a Time Lord's title." The Doctor mused. "Almost as if she were referring to you being a Time Lord..." He trailed off and Win blinked at him in surprise.

"Well I'm sorry to disappoint, but I'm Human. Only got one measly heart." The Doctor shook his head.

"No, but there is a method for a Time Lord to become a Human, locking away all their memories of being a Time Lord with doing so. You wouldn't happen to have a broken pocket watch with circular engravings on would you?" Win could see a spark of hope in the Doctor's eyes, and it hurt to know she was about to destroy it.

"No, nothing like that. I'm sorry Doctor." His head bowed slightly in disappointment as soon as she'd said the word no. Win gently wrapped him in a loose hug, trying to comfort him. He shook his head after a minute and pulled away. Clearing his throat.

"Right, lets go get the others and find out what our ghostly friends want." His voice was slightly hoarse, but he covered it up well. Walking out of the pantry into the hall to go to the parlor where everyone else was likely waiting. Win remained where she was for a minute or two with her head down. Silently wishing she could have said yes. With a sigh Win reached into the hidden pocket of her dress and pulled out her most precious possession. It was a pocket watch, and it was broken, but it didn't have circular designs on it. Rather it had a gold and deep blue swirling and floral pattern.

"Why couldn't you have had a circular pattern, huh?" Win mumbled to the broken watch before shaking her head and putting it away. No amount of wishing was going to change it. She walked off to find the others, an uneasy feeling invading her gut when she thought about the séance the Doctor wanted them to do. There was something very wrong going on.

~

"Doctor, I don't think it would be good for me to be present in the room during the séance. I'm a different kind of seer than Gwyneth, I might cause interference. I can stand in the hall and listen though, that should be alright." Win told the Doctor as the others were arranging themselves around a round table. The Doctor having even gotten Dickens to join the. He frowned slightly, looking like he might object, but then thought better of it.

"Alright, if you think that'll be best." He sighed before going to sit down in the spot left open for him and Win stepped out of the room. Leaning back against the wall near the doorway so she could listen. The voices of the ghost-like beings soon emanated from the other room. They called themselves the Gleth. They said they were few in number and dying. They wanted to use the bodies of the dead for their own, which made Win sick just thinking about it.