Blood of the Cult (4/Treela)

Inside the palace of Queen Nylarthopi, her majesty laid upon a relaxing and plush couch, blissfully sleeping and ignorant to her surroundings. Next to her royal slumber spot was a golden nightstand depicting the sun god Ra and his son Horus, holding up a golden disc that formed a tabletop. Atop the table was a variety sorts of dates, figs, and half-empty chalices of ruby-brown mead.

Her royal chambers were partially lit by torches that lined the silvery-white granite walls, casting dancing shadows that riddled the chamber like a vaudevillian variety show. Outside, the pure black inkiness of the sky was only disturbed by a sliver of moon and a generous sprinkling of stars.

A gentle breeze blew through the dunes of Egypt, causing the muslin drapes of her chamber to blow inwards like some sort of disembodied pair of hands. The breeze ruffled the torches, releasing a gentle hiss and crackle into the air.

Outside of her chambers, the head priest and priestess were making their rounds, swiftly walking past the door of the Queen with quiet precision. A chambermaid, walking towards them, stopped to bow, make her honors, then simple conversation. The priest, the ever known jokester, made a humorous anecdote that caused the other two ladies to quietly giggle to themselves.

The night was calm, hardly any sounds lifted through the air. Well, except for the sudden ear-shattering scream of the Queen. The three royal assistants ran to the chamber as quick as they could, pushing muslin and silk out from in front of their faces. When they reached the royal chamber, the screaming had stopped. The royal queen was standing at her balcony, the only thing that causes suspicion was that her nightstand was knocked over and the treats were scattered across the floor.

The Priestess, one of the Queen's favorites, approached the table and set it back up. "Your majesty, I do apologize. We heard screaming and we thought we'd better check it out."

No response from the Queen. "Your majesty?"

The priestess approached the Queen with a bit of hesitation, as she was known for her lashing out at poor servants. But alas, she received no response. When she reached the Queen, she held out a hand to her shoulder. "Your majesty, I--"

As soon as she touched the royal, she could see what was wrong. The Queen was stiff and leathery, and fell backwards onto the ground immediately. Her skin was dried and leathery, and embodied a disgusting grey tone. Her eyes were missing, just gaping holes in her head. Her dress was stained with the reddish-brown of blood, showing some sort of surgical implications had taken place.

There was only one explanation to this mysterious occurrence: The Queen, somehow in the timespan of crying out and them arriving, had been mummified.
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Inside the TARDIS, a quiet and familiar hum permeated the console room. The Doctor stood at the console, deeply intrigued by the various bits and bobs that popped up on the screen. He was occasionally mumbling to himself, talking out equations and discussing possible scenarios in his brain. He never looked over when Treela walked in, but he assumed she was there anyway.

"So, Madame, now that we're stuck together, what's your real name?"

Hardly any real time had passed inside the TARDIS, yet Treela wasn't aware of there current traversing through the stream while she was still getting used to the Doctor and the fact he already knew what she really was. She had been leaning against the control panel, her arms crossed and a pouted look on her face, by the time he asked what her real name was.

She sighed before saying "It's Treela. Tree for short, if you're so keen to go the short rout. How about you? Just Doctor? Not like "Mr. Doctor" or "Doc"?

Aside from getting to know him, Treela was trying to see if she could read this timelord and figure what sort of man he was. Was there anything to real fear from him or not, especially since he already figured her secret so quick. And given his ambiguous answer to his former meetings with Zygons, she wasn't sure how he'd take to her.

The Doctor looked back to Treela, and gave her a brilliant little smirk. "I'm the Doctor. And 'Doctor' will do just fine." The Doctor turned back to his console, and began to circle it.

Without warning, the TARDIS began to grind and wheeze, settling on a metallic THWONGONGONGONG! The Doctor, wide eyed and furried brow, looked up at Treela. He gave her his usual frowny-face/raised eyebrow look that he so often did, and ran back to the console's vector screen.

Audibly, the Doctor began to mumble to himself. "Now that isn't right. Sarah? Erm...perhaps this is...uh, Egypt. It looks like we've landed in Egypt." He turned back to Treela, who was watching him.

"Ancient Egypt, my dear Treela. And not a moment too soon."

Treela raised an eyebrow when he settled on just being called "Doctor", even commenting "You must've had very unimaginative parents." Of course she couldn't help but smirk a little from all the smiling he gave. She wasn't sure what it was about him smiling all the time that made her suddenly so it. Perhaps it was just the fact that he seemed happy despite having a stranger, and an alien for that matter, travel with him on-board his ship.

She jumped when the TARDIS made the metallic sound and looked around, wondering if this was something bad. However when the Doctor ran to the screen she looked as well, seeing that it was in fact Egypt. Her mouth dropped open in surprise before looking closer.

"Egypt? Ancient Egypt? You mean....we actually traveled back in time?"

"Well, yes--Wait, WHAT? Unimaginative? Coming from the Zygon who can't figure out pupils." The Doctor, oblivious as always to his unintentionally cruel remarks, studied the vector screen carefully and dutifully. He flipped a switch and opened up the giant display monitor going outside.

The screen revealed a massive expanse of sand dunes and a bright, glistening sun overhead. The sun, lazily sitting on the horizon, was either setting or rising. Either way, the temperature outside was already in the triple digits. The Doctor looked over to Treela, who was studying the landscape as well as he was.

The heat of the dunes was already starting to make the Doctor uncomfortable, despite the refreshingly cool TARDIS interior. The Doctor hung up his scarf and frock, then receded back into the TARDIS wardrobe.

The Doctor emerged in an atrocious pair of khaki shorts, Roman sandals, off-white cotton button up, and an old English safari style pith helmet. On his collar, two bright red question marks stood out, reflecting the rather unusual lifestyle and choice of the Doctor's adventures and predicaments he often gets himself into.

The Doctor looked over to Treela with a smile, then yanked the knob on the TARDIS console and exited the TARDIS.

After the comment with her eyes she only huffed, knowing there was no point in bickering with this man for the time being. Treela had still been looking at the monitor to examine the area as the Doctor sneaked off to change. She tried getting a closer look at the apparel of the people and the make of the houses and the like.

"What century of ancient Egypt is this anyway, Doc?" she asked before seeing he'd slipped away.

She looked around for a moment before he returned. She looked over his new attire and had a mix of both un-enthused and yet envious look when she saw this.

She gave a little "Really?" before he walked out. She shook her head before saying to herself "Good thing I have better since of fashion, no matter what the times."

Treela focused for a moment before changing the wardrobe to her human disguise. Now instead of a jacket and modern day shirt and pants she had a long toga that covered her body but exposed her arms. Sandals were on her feet and even a stylish Egyptian arm band was attached. She remembered seeing these types of outfits from history books and knew it would be the perfect fit for blending into this area.

She followed the Doctor out before looking around and commenting "Already I feel like this place needs a water park."

After looking Treela up and down, he noticed that his disguise might be a bit..suspicious. He quickly ran into the TARDIS, and with what seemed like mere seconds, emerged once more in a long, flowing cotton tunic that looked suspiciously like a bed sheet. When given a look by Treela, the Doctor simply responded with "Well...it IS Egyptian Cotton, you know."

His change in attire seemed completely contrary to what his normal outfit or attire would be. His feet were still clad in Roman sandals, but he dressed up to look more like his fellow Roman countrymen. "My dear suckered friend, I would say that by the taste of the air and the look of the ozone, we're somewhere around...44 B. C.? Perhaps post Julius Caesar. Somewhere around Cleopatra I would say. Beautiful woman, Cleopatra...probably."

The Doctor hiked up his toga and took off into the dunes. It wasn't very far of a walk for the Doctor, since his long legs and seemingly endless untapped energy made mincemeat of the closest dune. While atop the dune, the Doctor reached into his tunic and pulled out a small brass telescope. Etched very faintly on the side was what seemed like a phrase in Italian, and a signature that read Gallileo.

Mumbling to himself, perhaps even talking to Treela if she were listening, the Doctor's telescope swung around, nearly hitting Treela in the head. "It appears that we are only half a kilometer from the nearest town. It looks rather easy to get in to, and with our disguises, i'm sure we'd have no trouble getting into the palace as well...perhaps even figure out why the TARDIS took us here."

The Doctor looked over to his Zygon friend, hoping that her normally humid and temperate body wasn't drying out. He pulled out an unusually large water bladder and gave it to Treela. "Drink."

Realizing they needed to walk a good ways Treela sighed before starting on the path with the Doctor. The heat was a little much for her to the point where she was sweating. Not just from the heat itself but from holding her form in the temperature as well.

When offered a drink she took it and said "Thanks!" before guzzling a good portion down. After being cooled enough she gave a sigh of relief before handing it back and asking "So is this how it usually is? Your magic box just takes you to where there's trouble? I thought you piloted it."

As they started coming closer towards the populated area, Treela looked to see the large pyramids in the distance. She stopped for a moment to see them, being that they looked so new and regal compared to how they were in modern times. She gave a low whistle and shielded her eyes as she took a better view with a smile growing on her face.

"Pilot---I DO PILOT IT---Her. I do pilot her. She's a trusty companion and always knows where to go. In my youth though, she always took me where I needed to go. Now it's more of a half and half, really. This really doesn't surprise me. Perhaps we're needed here."

The Doctor and Treela stumbled through dunes and guzzled the refreshing water from the ancient bladder that hung around the Doctor's neck. In what seemed like ages, the Doctor and Treela finally arrived in the town. Merchant shops and eccentric bazaars flooded the streets. Merchants with exotic silks and extravagantly designed pots were in abundance. Fruit stands were overwhelmed with crowds of people waving plethoras of gold coins. The duo slipped into the city unnoticed.

They walked through a small residential district before arriving at the steps of the massive limestone palace. The golden roof glimmered in the midday sun, shining bright and annoyingly into the streets. Guards stood at attention at every layer of stairs, as if to protect the palace from some sort of evil...

The began their ascent towards the Palace, slipping past all the guards with not even a second glance.

Once they reached the bizarre Treela was instantly taken away but how real everything was. To think she was actually standing among ancient Egyptian citizens in the shopping area of a thriving town. It was all so amazing to her, yet she still had a few tendencies that kept with her as she browsed.

As she followed the Doctor through the market place towards the palace she'd managed to sneak herself a piece of fruit as they passed by the vendor. Her old habit of taking what she felt she needed still withstood even in this time. She took a bite before hurrying to catch up with the Doctor, hoping he wouldn't mind or say anything.

As they came closer to the palace she tossed what was left to the side as she looked over the large and grand design of the place. As she did she looked at the guards as well, seeing they looked tall and strong enough to defend this place if need be. To one of them, which she thought very handsome, she gave a flirtatious wave before moving on.

"So have you been here before? Or are we really just walking up to Cleopatra's palace without a real plan?"

Not needing to look over, the Doctor continued to climb the stairs. "I always have a plan. Cleo and I go way back. Or at least so she thinks."

The Doctor's mysterious ways of answering Treela's questions were sorely lost when the duo reached the doors to the Palace. The doorman, who was shirtless but wearing a modest bottom robe, held out a spear, stopping them in their tracks. "Who are you and what do you want with Pharaoh Cleopatra of the Nile?"

The Doctor held his hand to his chest and gave a modest bow. "Good sir, I am but a humble Doctor from Greece, traveling to deliver news to her Royalness about the state of her dearest Markus Antony. This is my consultant and concubine Treela of Cairo. She stays with me, no excuses."

The guard looked at the Doctor with a crinkled brow, then to Treela where his eyes scanned her, nearly violating the sanctity of modesty. The doorman nodded, lifted the spear, then let them inside.

While Treela wasn't exactly sure to trust whatever the Doctor did have planned she agreed to herself it was better than being lost in this ancient place on her own. When they were stopped by the guard she followed the Doctor's example and bowed. However when he called her his "concubine" she gave a harsh whisper, obviously being a bit insulted she had to be that. The look from the guard, who wasn't as attractive as the last she'd flirted with, didn't help any better as she tried covering herself despite the dress.

When they started walking she'd whispered to the Doctor "I'm not forgetting that concubine part. Just so you know. If this happens again, I'm calling you my man servant."

Giving Treela the slightest inklings of a smirk, the Doctor and Treela entered the palace and were immediately greeted with a refreshingly cool breeze. Taking a moment to allow their eyes to adjust to the transition from light to shade, the Doctor began to observe his surroundings.

Massive marble columns lined either side of the massive entrance hallway. The columns were etched with thousands of hieroglyphs, depicting scenes from the underworld heart weighing rituals to the standard harvest rituals that occurred every year. The columns were also draped with massively flowing reams of rich, ruby red linens. The ceiling of the hall was expansive and huge, reaching at least a hundred feet into the air.

The hallway itself was lined with smaller corridors that lead to side rooms and even more corridors. The maze of halls and rooms in the palace seemed mind boggling and terrifying. The further into the palace that the pair went, the closer they got to the now noticeable large lounge chair that laid directly in the path of a beam of light, illuminating the luxuriously relaxed looking woman in the chair. The Doctor gave a small nudge to Treela, signaling that this MUST be her.

The woman in the chair was surrounded by three or four servants with massive leaves, fanning the woman in a steady and almost complimentary beat. Smaller female servants stood close by, holding elegantly designed pitchers holding (what one would assume to be) wine, and bowls filled with figs, dates, and other various fruits. She was definitely the one. No doubt.

Treela was admiring the view of everything they passed, touching the walls just to make sure that everything was real and this wasn't some elaborate dream she was having. It was just so grand for her that every passing minute she was witnessing one new thing after another in this time period.

When the Doctor nudged her she looked to see the one and only Cleopatra sitting there among her servants. The first instance that followed was that Treela found the queen of the Nile attractive as can be, along with a number of her servants. She held back from giving a whistle before the image of herself being in that position came to mind. It was no wonder being royal was such a shared dream among so many.

When they approached She bowed just as she knew the Doctor would and kept herself there. She wasn't sure how to react around this queen, especially because she'd never met any type of royalty before.

"Your royal Pharaoh, ruler of the suns, skies, and dunes. We exult ourselves in your great and exalted beauty, and your merciful rule. Your--"

The Queen held her hand up mid-sentence, causing the Doctor to stutter and bite his lip. Three guards who were standing behind the queen leaned forward, obviously displaying to the pair that when the Queen holds up her hand to stop you, you either stop or lose your tongue. As she held her hand up, servants never skipping a beat, she turned her strong chinned face towards the pair.

Idly opening her eyes to the pair, she revealed two stunning gemstones of eyes. Her eyes glimmered and glistened like deep forest emeralds, hinting at regality and power within their dark interiors, and found compliments in her tanned skin. Their sharp, piercing glare focused in on the Doctor, then over to Treela, then back to the Doctor. She adjusted herself on the lounge, waved her hands about, and dismissed the entire room.

Within a matter of seconds, the Doctor and Treela were alone in the massive expanse of the room, facing the ever present judgement of the Queen's glare. She stood up. The first surprising thing to the Doctor was that she nearly met him eye to eye. Her height, although astounding, was incredibly unusual for this day, age, and location.

Charcoal locks of black hair fell loosely to her face, braided in traditional Egyptian royal fob, and decorated with various strands of gold and topped off with a golden asp diadem. The asp, centered at the apex of her forehead, had two glimmering rubies for eyes.

She circled the pair slowly and menacingly, inspecting every inch of the two as they stood motionless before the queen. When she reached the front of the pair, she gave a brief smirk. "You two are not from this land." Her voice echoed through the chamber, deep and resonate, running eloquently out of her mouth like liquid gold, almost hypnotic.

"Your clothing beckons of Rome, and yet you two look the strangest pair of Romans I've ever laid eyes on. If I were mistaken, you two remind me of the Celts and Druids near the Isle of the Britains. Am I wrong?" The Doctor looked over to Treela, confused and befuddled...how did she pin the pair so quickly?

Treela felt a large weight of pressure as Cleopatra had stopped the Doctor and opened her stunning eyes. She felt like she was being peered through her own soul with how blaring they were. Yet they were so beautiful she couldn't turn away. It wasn't until she stood and made everyone else leave that Treela realized they were in hot water.

When she walked over to the Doctor and began examining them Treela almost felt she could see through her disguise to the monstrous form underneath; that or she was only looking as far as past her clothing with just felt uncomfortable. Her cheeks had gone pink from being examined by her to the point where she was afraid her more flirtatious nature would get the better of her. And one thing she didn't want the Doctor nagging her about in the future was that they were nearly killed because she made a pass to the queen of Egypt.

When the queen had indicated she could tell they were not from Egypt itself she looked to the Doctor, seeing the worried look in his eyes. She only gave a nervous little shrug, obviously not knowing how to handle the fact they were figured out; at least partially. After all she was only his 'concubine' as it were.

The Doctor opened his mouth to speak once more, but was immediately hushed by a swift finger from the Queen. "You, strange haired man, are a mystery to me. A man from the Isles of Britain, or so he looks, coming to me in the hour of estrangement in my state."

Her gaze swiftly switched to Treela, where she loomed overhead, almost peering down upon her like a vulture. "And you, lily of the valley, one whose beauty is unreal. Your disguise is good, but not enough to fool a queen like I."

She stood back, watching the two, who were both agog and agape. She examined the both of them, then took a seat back down on the lounge chair. "You are a long way from home, my friends. I can sense you come from beyond the stars, far from here and anywhere which could be on land. Your arrival here has been foretold for man eons, and now you are here, and I can't think of what to say. You, the man of medicine, and you, the woman of many faces. Arriving here in your blue sarcophagus that wheezes and moans. The prophecy has been fulfilled."

Treela gulped a little in her throat when Cleopatra had finished figuring the Doctor out before looming over her like a hungry predator. She shrunk back just a little before she was found out somehow.

After the queen backed off Treela commented "Shoot. And I was trying so hard to stay in character." giving a sarcastic remark to the Doctor; another reference to the concubine thing. After that she listened along with the Doctor as Cleopatra told of how they're coming was foretold. When she finished Treela asked the obvious question of "Hang on. If you know who we are, then why not jump the guards on us? Actually, scratch that. Who the heck even told you?"

The Queen gave a smile to Treela's response that sent chills up the Doctor's spine. With no real reason, she circled her lounge chair and headed to the back of the chamber. There hung two massive curtains, with long golden pull cords on either side. She headed to one side of the curtain, grabbed the cord, and gave it an elegant tug.

The curtains split and revealed a massively large slab of limestone, painted with brilliant colors and figures. After a moment of staring at the bright colors, the hues and shades began to cognitively make sense to the Doctor. In the middle of the slab was a bold, blue box with a lamp atop. "The TARDIS..."

On either side of the TARDIS was figures. On one side was a womanly figure with a face that beckoned of the Indian god Vishnu, with many faces and emotions. On the other side stood an obviously male figure, but the face had been eroded off. The only thing that the Doctor could depict was that the figure seemed to have question marks on it, but he couldn't be sure. The Doctor came to the other side of the lounge to get a closer look.

"The story tells of a man of medicine and his many faced assistant coming to our land in his blue box from beyond the stars, and becoming the savior of the people. The two of them together would be sure that we could survive the famine, the plagues, the evils that darken our land. My fair lover Mark Antony cannot spare more time or energy to defend this land. And I can only do so much with my own troops. Nothing can appease the gods......nothing but you two."

At first Treela tensed when she smiled before walking away towards the curtains. She worried that the thing she would reveal would be something dangerous, or possibly monstrous. However when it was the TARDIS depicted on a slab she was both shocked and confused as to what it meant.

Treela had been examining both statues next to the TARDIS slab as Cleopatra explained how the two of them were apparently supposed to be sent by the gods to help in some great endeavors to come. The mention of Mark Antony made Treela remember that, at this point in history, he was still in Rome settling matters with the current emperor. However when she mentioned nothing would appease the gods but them she worried.

Leaning over and whispering to the Doctor she asked "Doc? When she says appease, you don't think she means....?"

"I should hope not...but I have an idea....do you remember what I told you when you first joined me? When I first told you what you were? Some things are not quite as they appear..." The Doctor's vague and abscure references could have went clear over Treela's head, but he had no time to explain further. He approached the slab and rubbed his hands over the massive stone face.

The Doctor pressed his face against the slab and took a deep breath. He stuck his tongue out and gave it a brief taste, then stood back. He was put into a land of thought and confusion, walked back to Treela with his hand cradling his chin.

Even with his back turned, the Doctor could feel the Queens powerful gaze piercing his back. "This is all too much, Treela. How and why? Hmmm....what do you think, my dear?"

Treela watched as the Doctor just randomly licked and sniffed the slab, looking oddly as he re-approached her after doing that. Even she had to consider it was a little gross of him since the slab could've been very dirty indeed.

When he asked her what she thought she gave him a confused look before saying "Uh....yeah. Too much indeed. I mean we only just got here and now we're supposed to just....help save everyone on a whim? I mean come on! Don't we even get to have a tour? Maybe get some gifts as a sign of gratitude? Show some appreciation would be nice...."

She wasn't sure if that had helped or not but she turned away as well. She looked over to the Doctor giving a worried look, hoping he had something planed.

The Doctor smiled at Treela with his infamous toothy grin, and gave her a small wink. He swiftly turned around to face the Queen, who was standing still by the slab. "Well...Cleo, old girl, the gig is up. Treela, my dear, you can drop face for the moment."

The Doctor approached the stone slab, coming face to face once more with Cleopatra and leaning up against the slab. "You're a beautiful woman on Earth, probably. But the trick is you're not beautiful, nor are you a woman. No one in their right minds would know as much as you do and casually know as much information as you do."

The Doctor stood back up from the slab and casually walked over to Treela. "First of all, Mark Antony is currently still in Rome dealing with Julius Caesar. Cleopatra and Mark Antony wont become and item for another three years. Secondly, the slab is made of a highly concentrated combination of Ferrous Sulphide, which is only available in the deepest crevices of Earth or on the distant plants in the Crab Galaxy. Thirdly, my dear, you've got the eyes wrong. Green eyes are a genetic mutation in the human race, and technically aren't even geographically available in this area for another 500 plus years."

The Doctor reached into his robe and pulled out a small box device. The device whizzed and buzzed in his hand as he flipped the switch. "And this little thing tells me that you aren't of this Earth either. And THIS little button here..." referring to the small red button that was lit up on the device, "Is a demasker."

The Doctor pressed the switch. The stone slab shattered into dust, revealing the tied up Cleopatra looking very dehydrated and wan, and the dried out corpse of what looked like another queen. The Doctor's eyes shot up to the standing Queen once more, smiling his signature arrogant smile and smugly boasting his reveal.

Seeing him smile she did so as well, Treela little more confident that he DID have a plan of action. However when he turned and started going on about how this wasn't the real Cleopatra, Treela titled her head wonder who or what she really was then.

When the Doctor told her to drop her disguise she gave a squeamish "Uh, Doc, I don't feel comfortable about that just yet..."

Whether or not he responded to that Treela still listened as the Doctor debunked one piece of information after another about the fake queen. With each thing he said she grew a little more confident that he could deal with whatever was she really was. She then backed away when the tablet was destroyed to reveal the REAL Cleopatra underneath. She wanted to make a move to help her but waited until the Doctor indicated it was alright to make any move with the fake queen still standing.

The standing Cleopatra, with a look of stoic horror on her face, looked down upon the tied up Cleopatra, then looked back up to the pair of time travelers. Her face, although revealed to be a sham, remained unemotional and still. She then began to smirk. A small chuckle passed through her lips. Then began to morph into a manic giggle, then into hysterical laughter.

The now manic Cleopatra threw her arms into the air, causing the brilliant sun shining down on her to eclipse into darkness. The unlit torches that surrounded the chamber sparked to life with an aggressive wooooosh! She looked back down to the Doctor. The firelight now cast an eerie shadow on her face, creating a mask of darkness and ferocity.

"Doctor....Doctor, Doctor, Doctor. My old friend. You wonder how I recognized you, and your pathetic shapeshifting friend. And yet I am surprised you didn't recognize me."

The Doctor, whose facial expressions morphed from smugness to curious horror, now watched as this Cleopatra mountebank patronized his intellect, which was a dangerous thing to do in any situation. The Doctor looked down to Treela, gave her a small nudge, and looked back up to the woman.

"And am I led to believe that I was supposed to ignore the fact that your face has changed, but your techniques of playing dumb have not, Ushas?"

Seeing Treela trying to keep up, he explained. "This woman is a renegade Time Lord, and one that I went to school with. Having vicious ways of dealing with people in order to get her way. It's no surprise that she found us. Oh, Ushas, you've lost your touch. Or do you prefer your alias, Rani?"