ADIUTRIX | DOCTOR WHO

↳ the lie of the land #1

It was hard to understand why she needed to be here for this.

"The Monks have been with us from the beginning." He spoke gently, explaining to an entire planet what they needed to hear. She knew that this would be a voice over for a montage of images depicting crucial events in human evolution, but each including a Monk - starting with a single cell dividing in a primordial sea. Propaganda was the only thing playing on her cell's tv. "They shepherded humanity through its formative years, gently guiding and encouraging, like a parent clapping their hands at a baby's first steps. They have been instrumental in all the advances of culture and technology."

Now they showed Monks as the Vitruvian Man and La Giaconda, painting those horrid creatures as saviors. Ophelia knew this special program by heart unfortunately.

"They watched proudly as man invented the light bulb, the telephone and the internet. They were even there to welcome the first men on the moon." Blurry images showed two of them waiting for Neil Armstrong as he said his famous first words on the natural satellite. "And they have defended us too. Who can forget the time the Monks defeated the Daleks, the Cybermen, the Weeping Angels?" What use would exist in shutting her eyes if these images got seared into her brain? Just as humans saw those massive monk statues littered around the globe, they saw her on the back of every transmission. "Two species, sharing a history as happily as they share a planet, humanity and the Monks are a blissful and perfect partnership."

To them, she looked perfectly content in a corner, wearing an impractical floor length black dress. Every time the Doctor had to record one of his messages, she'd be removed from whatever tiny room her body occupied that week to go through an entire hour being groomed. Because having her hair fall in glossy waves around her dress' high neck was much better than the tangles it usually laid in, also no one wanted to see dark circles under her eyes paired with pale skin. So they painted a fake image of Ophelia Watson, the Doctor's faithful companion.

"How lucky Earth is to have an ally as powerful and tender as the Monks, that asks for nothing in return for their benevolence but obedience." He'd lean into the camera, voice lowering in what supposedly was a reassuring tone. "So relax, do as you're told. Your future is taken care of."

There were no pleasantries exchanged, he'd not even look behind him as a soldier dragged her away.

༓☾☽༓

"Oh. My. God. I am going to beat the shit..." Bill's fist nearly hit Nardole, who got a little scared.

"No! No!" The Doctor stood between them to calm their tempers, more like her temper. "Oh, come on, come on, we've almost got the band back together." His smile still unsettled the girl deeply. "Now, lovely as it is to have you on board, literally and metaphorically, we're going to need some help."

He walked across both his companions to stare at nothing in particular, dreading the reunions that were going to happen.

"So, who're we going to get?" Nardole's brow furrowed. "I though Ophelia was going to come either way."

"She is. Go get her, please." One of the soldiers sneaked out." And also the only person I know almost as smart as me."

"Oh." His thin eyebrows shot up. "Oh, I see. Blimey. Has it really come to that?"

When two people people spent so much time together, they tended to incorporate each others habits. For example one day, Ophelia had been trying to paint a mental picture of Viria's lab for the Doctor, she realized her hands had begun to gesticulate out of their own accord much like his did. He grew a fondness for Earl Grey tea during that week they'd spent on semi bed rest together. One of her favorite things about him had been his flair for the dramatic, how his presence always commanded attention of every person. Without meaning to, Ophelia's entrance did just that.