Seeking the Sunrise ☽ Eleven x Reader

VII - The Sphere

It was in the late Autumn of 1847 when you first met Mr H. S. Alcindor. The strange, subtle vibration in the newly acquired sphere (that you later learned belonged to him) had started not long after leaving Dorothy and Cyril in 1920, and you had considered the possibility that this was a way of communicating with the suffragette. It wasn't- but it was a call from the man you would later refer to as Harry.

The gifts that Miss Dorothy Cassidy had given each of her saviours were all of a similar size, but their purposes were so incredibly different. Her shop was stocked full of antiques, and while you had insisted that you didn't need a reward, she had insisted harder.

When she had handed you the small orb, you hadn't really known how to react. It felt a little like one Christmas when you had received a present you hadn't asked for, hadn't really wanted, and (until your father had explained to you later on that it was a spirit level) hadn't known what it was or what it did. To this day, you were unsure what value your uncle had thought a six year old could find in a spirit level, but you enjoyed tilting the device and watching the bubble slide through the vibrant liquid.

You held the small ball up towards the TARDIS' control panel, inspecting the way the light bounced off the surface, and the way it shone through slightly. The carvings on what you assumed was the front of the piece blocked the light, and you wondered why the TARDIS wasn't translating it for you. Maybe it didn't have a meaning. All you knew for certain is that you should keep hold of it because, being who she was, Miss Dorothy Cassidy did not give gifts by mistake.

Captain Jack Harkness received his inkwell, and a kiss on the cheek from the suffragette. He turned it in his hand and smiled as he did so. You weren't sure what he intended to write with this inkwell, nor why it had to be that one in particular, but you hadn't asked him. He shook the bottle, and smiled again when he heard no sound rattling from the inside. It would seem that he was just as glad to be rid of the Weeping Angels as you were.

The Doctor's gift was smaller than the other two. You hadn't actually seen what it was, but when she handed it to him, he protested a little. She shushed him, and told him that no one needed to know what it was. That it could be their secret. He knew as well as you did that Miss Dorothy Cassidy gave every gift to the right person at the right time, and he was in no position to argue with her. Eventually accepting the gift, he slid it into his pocket and patted it in a gesture that she knew meant it was safe. The Doctor wrapped his arms around her, thanked her for the gifts, and whispered something in her ear only she heard. She smiled back at him, and the three of you left the shop.

Mr Henry Sylvester Alcindor was enjoying a cup of tea in his living room when the TARDIS interrupted him mid-sip. It materialised behind him, and he had only recognised your presence when the shapes on his mantelpiece began to rattle as the time machine gradually grew more visible. To steady the chattering china, he placed a hand on his tray and stood slowly in disbelief as the doors opened.

'Is this your glow-y light-y thing?' the Doctor asked him, craning his head out of the box and holding your gift aloft. 'It's been shaking.'

Mr Alcindor stepped forward, his hand outstretched. He was Black, though you couldn't tell where he was from exactly. He wasn't an old man, but the wrinkles around his eyes suggested he was a man who had seen and experienced things you would never believe. The ruffles delicately displayed on his chest and around his wrists along with the elegant, polished room you had found yourself in indicated that he was a wealthy man.

His lips curled into a smile. 'You've done it. You've actually done it!'

He cupped his hands together and the Doctor placed the ball into them gently. He silently walked over to his mantelpiece, and placed the ball on a predestined stand. As he did so, it lit up briefly; small, fiery hands encircled the sphere before dissipating back down to the base, leaving a slightly red outer-glow behind. As you inspected the other objects on the mantelpiece, you noticed the same coloured ripple across the other four. Green, orange, purple, yellow, and finally, red.

'Thank you.' he said, turning back to the box. Its three inhabitants had now stepped outside, and Captain Jack Harkness was closing the door behind him. 'You don't understand how much this means to me. Henry Alcindor, it's a pleasure to meet you.'

'I'm [Y/N], this is Jack, and the Doctor.' you introduce.

'She did my thing,' the Doctor scoffs, nudging Jack's shoulder. 'Did you see? She did my thing!'

'You're awfully calm for a man having just witnessed a blue phone box materialise in your study.' you continue.

'A blue what box?' Mr Alcindor replied, pouring the three of you a cup of tea and indicating to a sofa opposite the one he was sat on himself.

'Phone wasn't invented until 1876. We're about 30 years out.' the Doctor whispered to you discretely, accepting the cup from the man. 'Just a box. Just a plain, old, boring blue box. You're still calm. Why?'

'Well sir, this sort of apparition is not novel to me. I'm a magician.'

'A magician?'

'By trade, yes. I've been collecting the Klerksdorp Spheres for years, though. With that, you've helped me enormously.'

'So that's what they are. I've heard about the Klerksdorp Spheres. Been looking for one for ages, mind. If only I knew what I was looking for. No one really knows what they looked like, especially when they're polished like that. I've been looking around South Africa for years, I tell you. Trying to get them before those spirits is the trickiest bit though. They're always biting, and nipping at your fingers while you dig.'

'There's only six in the world.' Henry says, admiring his collection. 'And five of them are here, on my mantelpiece. How wonderful! I cannot thank you enough. I've only one more to track down now.'

'If you don't mind me asking, sir,' Jack asks, his thick accent becoming clearer in contrast to the other English accents in the room. 'What's the appeal of the spheres? Like I understand that they're beautiful- and they are- but they did that strange glowing thing. Do they always do that?'

Henry sighed. 'Only when you first place them onto their stands. And apparently when you get them all together. Which I will do, you mark my words.'

A sharp knock at the door interrupted the conversation, and Henry stood up to answer it. You heard very little of what was said, but there was a lot of shouting involved. When Henry returned, his hand was clasped to the side of his face. He dropped it as he reached the doorway, as to not let you know about the bruise forming on the side of his face.

'I hope you will forgive the brief interruption. Financial advisors, you know how it is.' he laughs lightly. 'As I was saying, the spheres have incredible combined power, and with them... well, I don't know what I could do.'

He paused for a second, and turned his head towards the cupboard in the far hand corner of the room. It was disguised almost completely by shelves of books, and only when the sounds from within grew louder did you identify it as a cupboard. It started as a small tap every so often. So quiet and insignificant that you were sure you were the only one to hear it. The tapping became more and more regular, until a sound not dissimilar to heavy rainfall was heard from the other side of Mr Alcindor's cupboard.

'What's that?' you asked.

'Nothing to worry about. It'll just be the Shadow. She's sensed another sphere his been found.'