In Her Eyes (A Whouffle Fanfiction)

Chapter 15- The Ball Part Two

The Doctor and Clara followed Marie up several winding staircases and down a narrow hall. The Doctor kept a careful eye on Clara as they walked, aware that she had drunk a lot of alcohol for somebody her size, worried that she was going to trip and fall even though she had a tight grip on his arm. Just to be safe he placed a hand at the curve at her waist, part guiding her, part holding her up. She tensed and the Doctor was suddenly afraid that he had gone too far, but she soon relaxed into him, shifting her arm from his down to his own, skinnier, waist, slipping it underneath his coat and resting it there. He swallowed at the pressure and curled his fingers around her side in response. 

"Where are we going?" Clara asked curiously. They were walking down a carpeted hall the width of her secondary school's main hall, the painted walls lavishly decorated with woven tapestries and countless artifacts balanced on plinths. Clara studied the hangings as she passed. Most represented numerous battles from the history of France; armoured knights holding banners aloft, sigils streaming in the wind, charging down their enemies. Kings on horseback claimed their crowns and defended their lands, boldly leading vast hosts of men-at-arms into battle. Some of them showed other events; coronations, marriages, rebellions, hunts, balls such as the one that they had just left. Huge chandeliers hung from the ceiling above, casting a flickering light on the stitched scenes, the figures coming alive inside the tapestries. Clara shivered and pulled the Doctor a little closer. 

"Absolutely no idea," he leaned down to whisper cheerfully in her ear. "Do you?" 

She shook her head. They passed the last of the tapestries and came to a halt before a pair of red velvet curtains. Marie reached a hand into the folds and tugged on a hidden rope pulley. The curtains parted in front of them revealing a set of french doors. She reached out both hands and turned the knobs, pulling the doors inwards. As she did so a gust of wind puffed through the opening, making the curtains flutter and flicking the Doctor's quiff back. He smoothed it back into place as Marie stepped through the doors, beckoning a finger for them to follow. Clara went first, disengaging him from her waist, cool air flooding the new gap- a poor substitute for her warmth and feel. The Doctor followed her, grabbing her hand. 

Marie had taken them to a balcony; ornate, decades old, crafted out of a white stone that reflected the dim light of the moon. All around and beneath them Versailles spread in all it's beauty, its people gathered in the streets eating, , laughing, dancing and kissing. Clara rested her elbows on the low wall that encircled the balcony, gazing out on the city below.

 "Beautiful, isn't it?" Marie asked. She waved down to the merrymakers below them and they cheered, raising their flagons of beer to her and shouting her name, some of the drunker ones wolf-whistling her. "All I ever dreamed of," she continued, not waiting for an answer, "so why am I so unhappy?" 

Clara drummed her fingers on the parapet, for the first time noticing the Austrian lilt in Marie's voice. "You're not from around here, are you?" 

"No. I'm from Austria." She said wistfully, a faraway look in her eyes. 

"It will get easier, you know." Clara attempted to reassure her. "Your people love you, after all."

"For now, yes," Marie smiled, strained, "but for how long? I am an outsider. My ways are strange to them. It will not be long until they see that, and my downfall will soon follow."

Clara looked to the Doctor, who was leaning against the pillar nearest the door. He shook his head at her sadly. I'm sorry. Clara swallowed and turned back to Marie. 

"You'll make a great queen," she lied. "One of the best." 

Marie sighed. "Thank you, Clara."