Thorn Bush (Doctor Who Story)

Chapter 27: The Snowmen Part One

A/N: Thank you to everyone that has voted on chapters, commented and added this story to their reading lists.

——

A young brunette woman, called Clara, dressed in a red dress gathers empty tankards from the tables at The Rose and Crown and takes the tray outside. There is a toothy snowman in the yard between the inn and the wash house causing her to pause, that wasn't there earlier. As she gazes at the snowman, two women and a man walk past her.

"Did you make this snowman?" She asks them before thinking.

One of the women pauses causing the others to do the same. She turns and smiles at Clara. "No. Did you?"

Clara slightly blushes at the attention when she realises how young the woman is, how attractive she is and how her blue eyes sparkle as she analyses Clara. Behind her lingers the man and woman also young, with their arms linked together. Likely married. She notes the man looks similar to the woman standing separately from them, probably siblings.

Clara hurriedly looks away from them to the other woman. "No, I didn't."

The woman shrugs casually with a scheming smile. "Well, who did then? Are you suggesting it appeared from nowhere?"

Clara feels her face redden further but she straightens herself, she almost feels she needs to impress this woman. "It wasn't there a second ago. It just appeared."

The man steps away from his partner and walks over to the snow, examining it. "Maybe it's snow that fell before. Maybe it remembers how to make snowmen." He murmurs.

Clara scoffs. "What, snow that can remember? That's silly."

The woman who's been causing Clara to blush a bit too much smirks at her. "What's wrong with silly?"

Clara swallows thickly and shrugs, trying to appear confident. "Nothing. Still talking to you three, ain't I?"

The other woman turns to her, and Clara can see something calculating in her gaze. "What's your name?"

"Clara."

The first woman smiles warmly. "Nice name. Clara. You should definitely keep it. Goodbye!"

She turns and walks away with the couple following her. Clara isn't going to let them go that easily! There's something almost familiar about them. Clara feels the need to get to know them, to follow them.

Clara follows them around the corner. "Oi! Where are you going? I thought we was just getting acquainted."

The woman pauses, waving on the couple, encouraging them to head off before turning to Clara. "You think I'm so easy?" She remarks. Clara wonders if she's flirting.

Before she can reply, the woman leaves and heads towards a carriage before getting inside. Clara starts to return to the inn, then changes her mind. She's not one to turn away from a challenge! She runs after the carriage.

Clara is able to reach it and climb onto it before pulling herself up onto the roof. She hears the woman talking inside.

"I'm positive. Don't know if me meeting her first does anything though." There's a pause. "No, you're right. Anyway, she just needs the name Doctor and we're sorted. Isn't that right Clara?"

Before Clara knows it, the hatch in the roof of the carriage that she was about to open, opens suddenly and she finds herself tumbling inside. The barmaid/governess takes a moment to recover from the shock and fall then pulls herself up onto one of the seats to find the woman sitting opposite with a smirk on her face.