Angels in Paris
The
snow fell gently in and around the infamous Paris Opera House as patrons went
to and from the holiday performances that were taking place inside. The
Christmas concerts were always a favorite with the higher class patrons and a
few of the middle and lower class would often stand for a few moments to hear
the sweet tones of music drifting from the hall. Street lamps decorated with garland and holly glowed
with their gas flames as carriages moved down the streets. Although parts of the city were wired for
electricity, there were still areas around the grand Opera House that still
used the old gas lamps.
As the
concert came to a close, the patrons descended down the steps and into the
streets. However, workers and performers
were busy closing down the grand venue for the night. Though some performers lived in the dormitories
onsite a few of the maids and other workers lived nearby in less than cozy
conditions. However, it was a living as
a lone maid named Abigail walked down the stairs having finished her work for
the night.
Abigail
was only in her early twenties with light blonde hair and blue eyes. She had left her native London having fallen
in love with an artist at the age of 16.
However, he had left her for a ballerina in a rival town leaving her all
alone in Paris. Though she was
heartbroken, Abigail went through the motions of daily life though it wasn’t
the life she envisioned. She had dreams
of being the “Lady of the House” with children and a stable household but now
she was working by herself chasing after a long dead dream.
Walking
through the streets towards one set of living quarters used by the maids,
Abigail found herself looking at the gargoyles that seemed to dot the buildings
in and around Paris. She was rather fond
of them but she admired the Angels the most.
They always seemed to be kneeling or praying with their hands covering
their eyes. They were so beautiful and
so pretty that even as a girl she recalled her parents telling her the stories
of guardian Angels and here they were in Paris.
As she
walked by, she thought she heard something in the alleyway. At this late hour, it wouldn’t surprise her
that the tavern patrons were emerging in their drunken stupors. However, as she peered into the alleyway she
saw the outline of a figure in the shadows.
It didn’t move but out of the corner of her eye she saw a wing tip. It was an Angel, here on the ground as a
nearby torch flickered.
She had
never had the opportunity to see one of the angels up close before. They were always up top near the opera
house. Perhaps, someone was playing a
trick as she looked up briefly. What she didn’t notice was the slight grinding
of stone in the darkness. Abigail slowly
walked up to the Angel, like the ones she saw on the rooftop of the Opera
House, its eyes were covered as she stared at it. It was gorgeous, her eyes remained glued to
the angel, it was beautiful as the snow continued to fall more heavily
now. A flake drifted into her eye and
she blinked. In that brief moment, a
scream echoed through the alleyways near the opera house.
*********
It had
been a week since Daniel “Zeke” Williams came aboard the TARDIS along with The
Doctor and Krista as The Doctor stood over the console. It was the insistence of Krista that he
should join their duo and it had been a while since there were three of them in
the TARDIS. Not that he didn’t mind the
company, he needed it after the losses of Alex, Lucie, C’rizz, Molly and most
especially Charley. His two hearts
ached over their losses but he had to move on.
There was something about Daniel that reminded him of a young Ernest
Hemingway only found on a planet far away from his 1935 Kansas home on a planet
that no doubt had been inspired by Frank Baum’s legendary tale. Daniel was in a sense the living embodiment
of Dorothy Gale, only his journey into the unknown had just begun.
As he
adjusted the controls of the console, the TARDIS shuddered briefly for a moment
as he tapped the console. Lately, she
had been shuddering ever so slightly in the past few weeks that it was becoming
a concern for him to start looking at her.
He couldn’t find where the source of the distress from his ship was coming
from and it was distressing. The TARDIS
was extremely sensitive and no doubt something continued to upset her ever so
slightly as he heard the voices of both Krista and Zeke coming in through one
of the corridors.
“So it
really is bigger on the inside?” He
heard Zeke comment as he heard Krista let out a soft chuckle. It was good to hear the small chuckle,
something that seemed to be missing since he had accepted the responsibility of
taking the female companion on board.
Perhaps, some relaxation is what the three of them needed since their
adventure on Oz. As he found himself,
adjusting the controls of the console, he figured maybe one of the first
performances of The Nutcracker by
Tchaikovsky would be uplifting or Beethoven’s magnum opus, the Ninth Symphony.
“You
haven’t seen most of it yet, and even back home I didn’t get to see most of the
rooms its Trans dimensionally…….” Krista
started, but the Doctor finished.
“Transcendental,
Miss Emerald.” The Doctor finished, as
he hit the scanners as he set in the coordinates roughly in the neighborhood. Unlike the past two adventures, he was
wearing his blue velvet petticoat in addition to his vest, cravat and pearl
gray trousers. “Good of you two to join me, I figured since
our little trip to Oz we may go someplace or somewhere a bit different and
uplifting.”
“As
long as it’s not the disco club, Doctor.”
Krista said, remembering the brief time before they met Zeke he had
taken her to see ABBA in concert back in the 1970s.
“Disco?” Daniel asked, looking at Krista quizzing.
“Don’t
ask it was a phase,” Krista said.
“Still
an enlightened period of music,” The Doctor said, amused. “Speaking of music, I thought it would be
interesting to take a trip to the romantic era of Earth’s history, the
classical composers Mozart, Beethoven, Handel or even Tchaikovsky, I have
always wanted to see the first performance of The Nutcracker, or the famed Ninth
Symphony. Old Beethoven had a way
with music despite his sorted past…but in order to attend one of these you must
change for the ball so to speak.”
“Well I
didn’t exactly bring my wardrobe with me, “Daniel said, as he saw a smile cross
Krista’s face.
“Don’t
worry! The Doctor has a room for that,” Krista
started, but the Doctor finished for her.
“Down
the main corridor down the spiral staircase and off to the left. You’ll find the wardrobe room, Krista is
already familiar with it. Late 19th
Century, Miss Emerald please do remember that as well Mr. Williams.” The
Doctor, said as he adjusted the controls and plotted in the coordinates. He watched as the two companions headed down
the corridor towards the wardrobe room.
Indeed, a good stroll to listen to the first ever performance of music
would do them all a bit good as he set in the coordinates and hit the controls
as the engines came to life and the TARDIS moved through the vortex on her way
to her next destination.
**********
An hour
later, Zeke stood nervously wearing a period maroon velvet coat, trousers matching
vest and a white dress shirt beneath, indicative of the period as well as
borrowed pocket watch all from the wardrobe room, which in and of itself was
almost ten levels if not more. Krista
had tried to explain to him where to find the period wear and being a history major
at one time, according to what she had told him, she had found him some
appropriate attire.
He
stared at one of the many racks of candles that lined the elaborate console
room as he heard The Doctor come back in.
This time instead of wearing his blue velvet coat, he was now wearing
his green velvet one as he adjusted the sleeves and looked at his own pocket
watch. By this time, the TARDIS had
already settled and now both were waiting on Krista as The Doctor walked back
over and checked the readings. They were
in the right time period, just during the middle part of the Victorian era as Zeke
was the first one to speak.
“Couldn’t
we find something a bit more comfortable?
I feel like this is something my granddad would wear,” He commented.
“The
wardrobe is part of the experience,” The Doctor replied, chuckling to
himself. “No need to ruin the trip
before it begins.”
“Well…it
could be worse you could be wearing a corset and a dress,” Krista added, as she
finally joined the two in the console room. Krista had changed into a dark green
elaborate Victorian gown hidden mostly by a large black cloak. Her hair had been curled back and around her
ears she wore a thin black veil as she shook her head. Zeke and The Doctor were impressed but it was
The Doctor who was the first to speak.
“You
weren’t complaining much back in 1916,” The Doctor reminded her.
“That’s
because, I was trying to blend in before I found a place of my own,” Krista
fired back. “I like history but I didn’t
like the wardrobe at the time.”
“Fair
point. 1889 Russia, the first
performance of The Nutcracker. Quite extraordinary given Russian history at
this time,” The Doctor said as he started towards the doors with both
companions in tow.
As they
opened the doors and stepped out, snow was falling as Zeke put on his top hat
upon stepping out and Krista followed after soon by The Doctor who locked the
doors to the TARDIS behind him. In
addition, it was also nighttime which means all the torches were lit reflecting
the snowfall. However, just as they stepped out it was Zeke who pointed out the
architecture from his studies as a child.
“Forgive
me, but this doesn’t look like Russian architecture,” He started to point
out, “That looks like the Eiffel Tower
under construction” As he pointed it out to the other two as both Krista and
The Doctor looked over off to the horizon as period cranes had stopped their
work for the holidays.
The
Doctor stuck up a finger and then realized that while the TARDIS had gotten the
time period right she had gotten the city mixed up. It was a missed and a given opportunity as he
let the snow drift and land on his finger.
There was no need to waste it as
he pointed out to Zeke and Krista, as Krista was busy taking in the sights and
sounds of the new timeframe.
“Quite
right, more like Paris 1898, very observant of you Mr. Williams,” The Doctor was
annoyed, but this wasn’t’ the first time the TARDIS had taken him somewhere
where he didn’t intend for it to land. “Christmastime,
still by the looks of it,” he continued as he pointed to the wreaths and boughs
of holly. “I suspect, we’ve landed near
the arts district, more specifically near the Opera House if I’m not mistaken.”
“How
can you tell?” Zeke asked, as he pulled on a pair of dress gloves and slid them
over his hands.
“What
do you hear?” The Doctor asked, as he waited for the companions to pick up on
the faintest vibrations of music.
Perhaps, this is why the TARDIS was attracted to this particular spot as
he could pick it up but it would take a moment for the others to pick up on the
vibrations of sound. There was something
else there as he could hear it faintly under the music, but for what intents he
couldn’t decipher yet.
“Music,”
Krista said, as she picked up on the faint sounds of an orchestra but also she
thought she could hear the scraping of stone.
Looking around, she then could see the architecture of the buildings
nearby as she saw what she thought were Angels through the snow looking
down. They were beautiful amongst the gargoyles that decorated some of
the other buildings as she could hear the soft crunch of The Doctor and Zeke
headed towards the source of the music.
