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They'd all barely been able to fit on the moped, but with Danni squeezed in front of the Doctor, and Clara clinging to him from behind, they'd almost managed to reach Merry in time. Danni'd been unable to reach the little girl, her confined position making it almost impossible to grab her hand. Clara had tried, but she'd not been able to reach either and the screaming child either and she'd been sucked into the pyramid-shaped temple, the door slamming shut as they barrelled towards the asteroid.
"Brakes! Brakes!" Clara screamed as Danni squeezed her eyes shut, burying her face in her hands. They were all going to die. They were going to crash, and they were going to die and it was all her fault! She shouldn't have convinced Merry to sing, she shouldn't have given up her ring for the moped. She'd doomed them all.
The moped landed on the dusty ground with a thud, grit flying up and hitting them all in the face as the force jolted them forward. Clara, instinctively, wrapped her arms around the Doctor, clinging for dear life as he pushed himself forward, ready to cushion Danni should they fall off.
Luckily, the shudder from the sudden stop was about it and none of them were thrown off the moped. Clara panted, face pressed into the Doctor's shoulder blade.
"OK, time to let go." The Doctor told her and she shook her head.
"I can't." She replied, still frozen from the fear of certain death.
"Clara, get off!" He barked so angrily she was startled into letting him go. Before she could even register what had made him so angry, he was off the bike, crouching next to his wife and Clara could only stare in surprise. The blonde woman looked terrified, curled up into herself like she was trying to disappear from view completely. Her face was pressed into her hands so hard, trying to hide so desperately that her glasses must have been pushing painfully into the bridge of her nose.
"Danni, Danni look at me." The Doctor begged, "We're okay, it's okay. You're safe, I've got you." His hand rested on her leg, thumb tracing a slow, comforting circle against her trousers. She looked up, eyes wide and his hearts broke that his stupid stunt had scared her so much.
"Every time I try and reach, I can't grab anything." She whimpered, hiccupping at the end. The moment her fingertips had brushed against Merry's, she'd seen herself trying the same with her Theta as she fell out of the TARDIS into deep space. She saw herself hanging over the edge of a cloud, trying desperately to take Clara's hand as the nanny tumbled to her death. She'd tried to grab Merry, and the poor girl had been sucked away.
The Doctor, having no clue what to do, reached out and linked his fingers through hers, lifting their hands so they were directly in her eye line, "Look." He told her, terrified of how wet her palm was. He wasn't sure if it was tears or cold sweat, but they were both signs of how scared she was and he had to try and make it better, "Look, you've got my hand. You've always got my hand." He promised, "If you're ever scared, just reach behind you and I'll always be there. I'll always have your hand."
Clara crouched down beside the Doctor, knowing that he was becoming so upset he was likely to just make Danni worse, "You're feeling really scared right now, aren't you?" Clara asked gently and Danni nodded, hiccupping again, "And that's okay, but you know who else is scared?" Danni just hiccupped again in reply, "The little girl inside that temple."
"Merry?" Danni asked meekly and Clara nodded.
"She's trapped in there, with no idea what's going on with something that cannot be anything good. She was scared to sing, but when she saw you she did it anyway. When it went wrong, she looked at you for reassurance. Can you imagine how not-scared she'll be when she sees you've come to save her?" Danni nodded, calming down slightly.
"We have to save her." She replied and Clara nodded, smiling encouragingly.
"We do." She agreed. Danni stood up shakily, trying to take some deep breaths. She was still terrified, she clung to the Doctor's hand like she was never going to let go again and he didn't care. He just brought it up to his lips, placing a kiss on her palm before dragging her over to the door. Maybe if he didn't dwell on it, got back to the matter at hand, she wouldn't dwell on it either.
He pulled out his screwdriver, scanning the door, checking the results when the squealing went slightly high-pitched compared to its normal squeal, "Oh, that's interesting. A frequency modulated acoustic lock. The key changes ten million, zillion, squillion times a second." Danni looked at him, eyebrow raised.
"Squillion?" She repeated and he nodded, it was a legitimate numeric measurement, "What does that mean? Can you open it?"
"Technically, no." He replied and her hearts sank, "In reality, also no. But..." He smirked at her, "when has that ever stopped me before?" He let go of her hand to charge at the door, yelling as he slammed into it. Clara covered her eyes with a yelp, but he just landed with a thud against it.
"Did you really just run at the big, stone door?" Danni asked, amused by him. He looked embarrassed, straightening his jacket before pointing the sonic screwdriver at it, trying it on the seams.
Clara looked behind them, back to the amphitheatre where she could see the specks that made up the crowd, none of them moving, "How can they just stand there and watch?"
"Because this is sacred ground." The Doctor replied, banging on the stone before trying the screwdriver again.
"And she's a child." Clara protested.
"Doesn't matter." Danni replied, "I've always found that children don't seem to matter when there's something in charge to be feared."
"That's terrible." Clara retorted and Danni nodded.
"Why do you think we're here?" She pointed out. A scream rang out from inside and Danni dove next to him, banging on the door.
"Merry!" She shouted, "Merry, it's okay, we're coming!" She looked up at the Doctor who nodded, "We'll get you, I promise."
"Oh! Hello!" He exclaimed as the sonic flashed.
"Hello what?" Clara asked.
"The sonic's locked on to the acoustic tumblers." He explained.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning, I get to do this." He scanned the door from top to bottom, crouching slightly and it began to slowly rise. Inside was a man singing, crouched in front of what appeared to be a mummy in a glass cube. Merry stood in front of it, looking terrified as the door revealed the three people.
"Hello there. I'm the Doctor. This is Clara, and you've met Danni." He nodded down at his wife.
"It's okay, sweetie." She told the little girl, "We can leave, now." Merry shook her head, frozen on the spot.
"Are you coming, then?" The Doctor asked, "Did I mention that the door is immensely heavy?" As he did, it dropped slightly and they all ducked in case it landed on their heads.
"Leave. You'll wake him!" Merry cried. Danni shook her head, diving under the large stone and into the room. She very slowly approached Merry, hand out and a small smile on her face.
"Not without you." She promised calmly, "You have to come with us, or we're staying right here with you."
"No. Go away!" Merry sobbed, one step away from bursting into tears.
"Not without you." Danni repeated again.
"You said I wouldn't get it wrong and then I got it wrong! And now this has happened. Look what's happened!" The girl cried and Danni shook her head.
"You didn't get it wrong." She insisted, "You got it so very right. This is not you, I promise."
"How do you know? You don't know anything!" Merry snapped in fright, "You have to go! Go now! Or he'll eat us all."
"You're right, I don't." Danni agreed, "But I know that I'm not leaving you." She smiled, "Plus to eat you, he'll have to go through me, and to get to me, he'll have to go through my husband. And trust me, you've not seen my husband when he's angry." She took another step towards Merry, "Now, please, come with me." Merry shook her head.
"He wants to eat our souls." She cried.
"Well he's not getting them." Danni promised. Merry, terrified because she didn't know what to do, closed her eyes tight and put her hands on her forehead, sending Danni across the room and into the glass cage with a slam, "Oh, that hurt." She groaned as Clara dashed into the room, just moments before the Doctor rushed in, letting the stone door drop. He rushed over to his wife, ignoring the man singing and Clara trying to reassure Merry that everything was okay.
"I know that look." Danni said as he checked her over with the screwdriver quickly, making sure she wasn't hurt and seeing if he could get her free himself, "No shouting at the little girl for being scared."
"I'll get you free." He promised, placing a kiss on the forehead.
"You save the little girl." She retorted, "And you don't do that by getting angry at her." He wanted to argue with her, actually part of him wanted to shake the little girl until she let Danni go, but even he knew that wasn't a good idea. Even if his hearts pounded in his chest at the sight of Danni pressed up against the holding cage of something not very nice indeed.
"Did you just lock us in?" Clara called over and he nodded, placing another kiss on Danni's forehead. At least if she was stood there, he knew where she was. He could get to her in a moment's notice if he needed to.
He spun around, nodding, "Yep."
"With the soul-eating monster?" Clara asked and he nodded again.
"Yep." He repeated.
"And is there actually a way to get out?" Clara pressed. He walked down the stairs slowly.
"What? Before it eats our souls?" Clara nodded.
"Ideally, yes."
"Possibly. Probably. There usually seems to be."
"Clara?" Danni called over and the woman looked over, "When he says that, it means no."
"But..."
"Always."
"I can hear you, you know?" The Doctor called as he crouched down in front of the singing priest, tilting his head.
"Why is he still singing?" Clara asked as she finally noticed the man.
"He's trying to sing the Old God back to sleep." The Doctor explained, "It's not going to happen. He's waking up, mate. He coming, ready or not. You want to run." The priest slowly trailed off, staring at the Doctor, solemn, "That's it, then? Song's over?"
"The song is over." He confirmed before standing up, the Doctor rising at the same pace, not breaking eye contact, "My name is Chorister Rezh Baphix," He declared, pulling his hood down, "and the Long Song ended with me." He pushed his sleeve up, revealing a brown band. He pressed a button on it and disappeared, leaving the four alone.
"That's it, then! Song's over!" The Doctor sighed before turning, pointing his screwdriver at the mummy and setting it off. Danni let out a quiet yell as something roared behind her. What was he doing? She tried to struggle against the bonds around her wrists, the invisible restraints that Merry had put on her but there was no moving.
"Ha-ha!" The Doctor cried, taking the stairs two at a time, coming to a stop by Danni. He dipped his head by her ear, "Trust me." He whispered before pushing up against the glass, not giving her a chance to reply, "Look at that." He crowed as it began banging on the glass, jolting Danni painfully.
"You've woken him!" Merry cried.
"Why have you woken him?" Danni asked, eyes closings and hands clenching into fists, "Why the hell have you woken him?"
"Oh, you know, to give him time to stretch. But I didn't wake him." The Doctor replied before pointing at Merry, "And you didn't wake him, either. He's waking because it's his time to wake. And feed. On you, apparently. On your stories."
"She didn't say stories, she said souls." Clara pointed out.
"Same thing." The Doctor replied, "The soul's made of stories, not atoms. Everything that ever happened to us. People we love. People we lost." He paused for a moment, looking at his wife. Pressed forcefully against the glass. Her eyes were closed, so she couldn't see him, but he could see her perfectly. He thought he'd lost her forever. That he'd killed her and he'd never see her again. But there she was, in front of him, alive and... and well, blonde now but it didn't bother him. It never would, because she would always be beautiful to him.
"People we found again, against all the odds." He continued, quieter this time as he cupped her cheek. Her eyes snapped open as she gasped in fright but he shushed her gently, "He threatens to wake, they offer him a pure soul. The soul of the Queen of Years."
"Stop it. You're scaring her." Danni told him.
"Good. She should be scared!" He retorted, "She's sacrificing herself. She should know what that means." He walked over to Merry, towering over her, "Do you know what it means, Merry?"
"A god chose me." She whimpered and the Doctor pointed behind him at the glass cube.
"It's not a god!" He promised her, "It'll feed on your soul, but that doesn't make it a god. It is a vampire," He pointed at the beast as it tried to break out of the cube his wife was trapped against, "and you don't need to give yourself to it." Merry glanced behind him fearfully and he smiled gently as he leant down to meet her eyelevel, "Hey, do you mind if I tell you a story?" She glanced behind him again before nodding, "One you might not have heard? All the elements in your body were forged many, many millions of years ago, in the heart of a faraway star that exploded and died."
He knelt down in front of her as she listened, enraptured. Clara joined them, head tilted, "That explosion scattered those elements across the desolations of deep space. After so, so many millions of years, these elements came together to form new stars and new planets. And on and on it went. The elements came together and burst apart," He stood up, chucking his hands in the air, "forming shoes and ships and sealing-wax and cabbages and kings."
Clara was listening, amazed at his ability to spin words, convinced that he meant every single word. It was like he wasn't speaking to the girl, trying to convince her to not sacrifice herself, but like he was talking to all of them. She could only watch as he walked behind Merry, clapping his hands on her shoulders, "Until eventually, they came together to make you. You're unique in the universe." He looked up, glaring at the creature that was trying to destroy an innocent life, "There is only one Merry Gejelh. And there will never be another." He began walking the girl into the middle of the room, "Getting rid of that existence isn't a sacrifice. It is a waste." The creature didn't agree, but he met Danni's eyes and she was smiling brightly. She'd been convinced he was going to continue to be terrifying to Merry, but she should have known better. He couldn't just stand back and let a child get hurt.
"So, if I don't, then everyone else..." Merry asked the Doctor, turning to look at him before her gaze turned back to the monster once again.
"Will be fine." He promised her. The creature pounded against the glass and Danni whimpered again, reminding herself that her husband would not let her die.
"How?" Merry asked him, eyes full of tears.
"There's always a way." He told her gently.
"You promise?" He nodded, crossing over both of his hearts.
"Cross my hearts." He held his hand out to her and she took it slowly, smiling gently up at him before turning to face Danni. With a small nod of her head, Danni was freed and she rushed down, chucking her arms around the Doctor as the creature smashed its hand against the glass, cracking it just where her head had been resting. He wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her close while still keeping a grip on Merry's hand.
He placed a kiss in Danni's hair, "It's okay, I've got you." He promised.
"I think he's really mad we're still here!" Clara exclaimed and the four turned, running to the door when the room started shaking, like the whole asteroid was vibrating underneath them, "Something's coming. What's coming?" Clara asked lowly.
"The Vigil." Merry replied.
"And what's the Vigil?" The Doctor asked her.
"If the Queen of Years is unwilling to be feasted upon..." She paused, swallowing the lump in her throat.
"Yes?" The Doctor pressed.
"..It's their job to feed her to Grandfather." She finished.
"Of course it is." Danni grumbled, "Not only are we going to feed it a child, if they're scared, let's drag them there!" As she spoke, a black smoke spread in front of the glass cage, three of the creatures that had been looking for Merry in the marketplace appearing.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Merry begged, running forward but Danni grabbed her arm, pulling her back against her husband.
"Don't you dare." She warned her, "They're not going to hurt you, I promise." The Vigil walked closer and she pulled Merry up against her, "Doctor..."
"I know." He reassured her, pointing his screwdriver at them, "Stay back. I'm armed. With a screwdriver."
One of the Vigil let out a deep roar, a shockwave sending the sonic screwdriver out of his hands. The Doctor looked vaguely affronted at its treatment. He just managed to let go of Danni's hand before a louder, more forceful bellow sent him flying into the wall.
"Doctor!" She cried as another bellow flipped Clara over, sending her into the wall as well with a thud. Danni pulled the little girl closer to her, backing up towards the door.
"I'm guessing you're not going to attack me because I have the girl." She told them, voice shaking slightly, "Well, guess what? I'm always going to have the girl. I-I'm not going to let you harm her." Her back hit the wall, "Of course, someone else could jump in right now and save us. I wouldn't be opposed to that." She glanced down at the Doctor, who was blinking back into consciousness, "Or, maybe not." She pulled Merry up against her closer, both arms wrapped around her, "It's okay, sweetie. They won't hurt you."
"They're angry and it's all my fault." The little girl whimpered and Danni shook her head.
"No, it's not." She promised, "None of this is your fault. Adults never get it right, trust me. So try not to be scared."
"You're scared." Merry pointed out and Danni nodded.
"Terrified." She agreed, "So, you don't need to be. You never need to be." The Doctor groaned, looking over at his wife. She held Merry in her arms, looking meek and tiny as she shrank away from the creatures, but she looked them straight in the eye. There was nothing that was going to stop her protecting the child. His eyes darted around, seeing the sonic lying just by Clara, who was slowly coming around as well.
"Clara." He called and she looked over, dazed, "Sonic." She understood that, jumping up and grabbing the screwdriver, chucking it at him. He caught it and rolled onto his stomach, pointing it at the advancing Vigil, its own power pushing them to a standstill.
"Danni, it's okay." Clara whispered urgently, "You can let her go." Danni shook her head, eyes wide.
"They'll hurt her." She replied, "I can't let them hurt her."
"She's fine, the Doctor's got them cornered." Clara reassured her, "She can help us get out, but you need to let her go." Danni looked down at the top of Merry's head, realising that Clara was right. She slowly released the girl and Clara crouched, smiling kindly as the Doctor groaned at the strain of keeping the Vigil back.
"You know all the stories. You must know if there's another way out." Clara suggested and Merry stuttered, thinking back through all the stories she'd ever been told before nodding.
"There's the tale. A secret song. 'The Thief of the Temple and the Nimmer's Door'."
"And the secret songs open the secret door?" Clara asked and Merry nodded, "How does it go? Can you sing it?" Merry glanced at the other side of the room before opening her mouth, a sweet sound coming out. A door slowly opened, groaning from underuse and the Doctor gave the Vigil a forceful push, causing them to step back.
"Go!" He told them and Clara took Merry's hand, pulling her out. Danni shuffled on the spot and the Doctor glanced around, seeing her hesitate, "I'll be right behind you. You know I will. Go!" She nodded, dashing out to find Clara and Merry at the moped. A roar came from inside and Doctor appeared a moment later.
Danni, sighing in complete and utter relief, rushed over and chucked her arms around him. He lifted her up as he hugged her before letting her pull him in for a kiss. Clara grimaced slightly, putting her hands over Merry's eyes until the Doctor broke it off, placing his forehead on hers.
"Told you. Right behind you." He promised and she nodded.
"Now what?" She asked in reply, "Why are they still following you?" He turned around just in time to see the creatures disappear.
"Where did they go?" Clara asked, letting go of Merry and the Doctor had a thought, a deeply worrying thought that showed on his face as realisation.
"Grandfather's awake." He replied, "They're of no function anymore."
"Well, you could sound happier about it." She commented as something in the distance exploded, barely making it to their eyes.
"Actually, I think I may have made a tactical boo-boo." He told them all apologetically, "More of a semantics mix-up, really."
"What boo-boo?" Clara asked lowly.
"I thought the Old God was Grandfather but he wasn't. It was just the Grandfather's alarm clock." He explained.
"Sorry, a bit lost. Who's the Old God? Is there an Old God?"
"Unfortunately, yes." He replied with a grimace. The asteroid started vibrating again. The sun that they were orbiting began to glow brighter and brighter and they all stared in awe.
"Oh, my stars." Clara breathed before looking up at the Doctor, "What do we do?" She asked, voice high-pitched.
"Against that?" He cried, shaking his head, "I don't know. Do you know? I don't know. Any ideas?"
"But you promised!" Merry cried, and he looked at her, seeing the betrayal on her face, "You promised!"
"I did." He agreed, turning and letting Danni go again to pace backwards and forwards, "I did promise." But what could he do? That thing was massive. He couldn't take on a fully-fledged Old God. Could he? Of course not!
"He'll eat us all." Merry cried, "He'll spread across the system, consuming the Seven Worlds. And when there's no more to eat, he'll embark on a new odyssey among the stars."
"No he won't." Danni promised her, "The Doctor will think of something. Won't you?" He turned, eyes wide to see her looking hopefully at him.
"You're going to fight it?" Clara asked and he nodded, resigned to the fact he couldn't let Danni down now she'd said that.
"Regrettably, yes. I think I may be about to do that." He replied.
"It's really big." She pointed out and he shrugged.
"I've seen bigger."
Clara looked at the Doctor, surprised, "Really?"
"Are you joking?" He cried, "It's massive." Clara nodded, looking back at the sun.
"I'm staying with you." She declared.
"You're taking Merry back to her parents." Danni retorted, "When there is children involved, you don't stop until they're safe."
"But you said..."
"We don't walk away." The Doctor finished and he nodded, "But when we're holding on to something precious, we run. We run and run as fast as we can and we don't stop running until we're out from under the shadow." He looked at her, "Do you understand?" He nodded towards Danni pointedly, thinking he was being subtle.
"Oh, no. I'm not leaving." She told him firmly. He tried to argue but she held up her finger, stopping him mid-word, "No! All this time, all these years I've never had the choice of when I stay and when I go! You're not taking that from me, do you understand me Spaceman? I choose, and I choose here."
~0~0~0~
The Doctor hadn't liked watching Merry and Clara fly away without taking Danni with them, but she was right and he couldn't deny her anything. For too long he'd always been worrying about how long they had left together, about when that arbitrary timer would count down to zero and she'd be back with his Ninth or Tenth self, wondering if she'd ever see him again. Now, when it mattered, they could stay together and so they stood in front of the sun as it fluctuated with power.
"You know, it's very big." Danni commented, "Very, very big." He chuckled, linking his fingers through hers.
"Size doesn't matter." He replied offhandedly and she snorted, amused by the double meaning he hadn't meant, "Have you always been this dirty minded?" He asked, blushing slightly.
"Only since meeting you." She promised. They both looked at each other and smiled happily.
Then Danni frowned, looking back as the soft sound of singing reached their ears, "What's that?" She asked the Doctor.
"I think that's Merry trying to help you not be scared." He replied, "And I've just had an idea." He looked back up at the sun, "I'll tell you a story." He told the sun, "Can you hear them? All these people who've lived in terror of you and your judgment? All these people whose ancestors devoted themselves. Sacrificed themselves. To you." He smiled, voice falling soft, "Can you hear them singing?"
He stepped forward, not letting go of Danni's hand but making sure he was the main focus of the God's attention, "You like to think you're a god. But you're not a god." He snarled, "You're just a parasite eaten out with jealousy and envy and longing for the lives of others. You feed on them. On the memory of love and loss and birth and death and joy and sorrow. So..." He glanced down at Danni, who smiled shakily at him, having nothing to add but being there, "So, come on, then. Take mine. Take my memories. But I hope," Danni watched in awe as light trails weaved through the sky, crying his name when they began shooting into his chest, "you've got a big appetite. Because I've lived a long life and I've seen a few things."
The Doctor winced, his head filling with memories he had tried so long to replace. His home, his family, his Ponds, all flashing through his head and his grip tightened on his wife, anything to pull him out of his own head, those faces that haunted his dreams, "I walked away from the Last Great Time War. I marked the passing of the Time Lords." He told them and Danni frowned, the memory of Koschei flashing through her head. Why did he always have to appear?
"I saw the birth of the universe and I watched as time ran out," The Doctor continued, tears springing in his eyes, "moment by moment, until nothing remained. No time. No space. Just me!" He began openly crying, unable to resist against the onslaught of memory after memory, breaking his hearts again as he was forced to relieve them all at once.
"I've walked in universes where the laws of physics were devised by the mind of a madman." Old memories, long forgotten moments, "I've watched universes freeze and creations burn." Time War and Dalek, planets lost in the fire, "I've seen things you wouldn't believe." Wonderful Scottish women remembering things erased from time.
"I've lost things you'll never understand." A beautiful ginger woman, with a happy smile and blue dress. She smiled at him, a vision overpowering everything else. His Danni-Girl. Gone, forever.
God how he missed her.
"And I know things. Secrets that must never be told. Knowledge that must never be spoken." A word he'd never told a soul, a name that even his wife didn't know, "Knowledge that will make parasite gods blaze." He straightened his bowtie, chucking his arms out, inviting the monster in, "So come on then! Take it! Take it all, baby! Have it! You have it all!" The golden tendrils twisted, burning brighter and brighter until they retreated, leaving the Doctor panting, head bowed until he gave up completely, falling to his knees.
Danni dropped with him, wrapping her arms around him, hugging him tightly, "You did so well." She whispered, stroking his hair, "You did so well, I'm so proud of you.
"I'm sorry." He whimpered, "I'm sorry, Danielle. Please, I'm sorry."
"I know." She promised, "It's okay, I've got you." He pulled her closer, dipping his head next to her ear. Her breath caught as he whispered something into her ear, not the sweet Gallifreyan she knew meant he loved her. Something else, something more. Something she had told him never to tell her, because it was all he had left that was truly his.
"Was that..." She whispered and he nodded into the crook of her neck.
"I'm sorry." He whispered, "I'm so, so sorry." Clara stepped out, arms wrapped around a book she couldn't remember ever putting down. The husband and wife were huddled together on the floor, so she stepped forward.
"Still hungry?" She asked, voice shaking slightly but loud with determination. She opened the book, revealing a leaf, "Well, I brought something for you…"
~0~0~0~
Clara stepped into the kitchen slowly, smiling warmly at Danni who was stood at the kettle, in her pyjamas, waiting for its slow-boil to finish.
"Are you okay?" Clara asked, startling her, "You were very scared." Danni smiled softly. She had been, hadn't she? She would have been embarrassed, but a word, a name, a phrase floated around and around in her head and it still overtook everything she was feeling.
"I was, wasn't I?" She agreed, "But I'm okay now. Has the Doctor not dropped you off home, yet? He didn't miss, did he?" Clara shook her head.
"No, he didn't." She replied before taking another step towards the blonde woman, "He told me about your friend." Danni frowned, brows furrowed, "The woman you invited to be your companion."
"Oh." Danni sighed, "Of course he did."
"I remember, when my mum died," Clara started, "Everything would remind me of her. It didn't matter if it was something she liked or not. If it was, then it was because she liked it, and if it wasn't, then it was because she didn't." Danni nodded, "I'm not her. But I can understand why I remind you of her."
"She was a nanny." Danni told her, "A nanny and a barmaid. And she died to save me, because I was scared." Tears sprung to her eyes, "I don't like being scared all the time, Clara."
Clara gave her a little smile, a sympathetic one as she reached into her pocket, "No one likes being scared." She reminded her gently, "Perhaps this will help." She held out a small, golden band with a small diamond. Danni's mouth fell open slightly in disbelief and Clara took her hand, placing it in her palm, "They wanted me to have the moped, in exchange for my leaf. I told them I wanted the ring instead. Where am I going to park a flying moped?"
"My ring." Danni breathed, staring at the White Point star as it glistened in the kitchen light.
"I'm not her." Clara repeated and Danni's gaze snapped up to meet her, "And I'll prove it. I'll earn your trust in my own right, but until then, I hope this helps." Danni nodded, unable to say anything as she looked back down at it. Clara rubbed her arm, not giving her a hug, giving her the space she needed, then left her alone.