EATER OF SOULS
Chapter Three “Wow, swank,” the Doctor said, as they pulled up to the governor’s palace. He looked down at Rose who was staring up at the imposing structure with wide eyes. He gave her hand a squeeze. “It’ll be all right,” He said, reassuringly. “We’ve gotten out of worse things than this.” Rose nodded and leaned against him. “Get out,” the captain said to them. The Doctor and Rose looked at him. The Doctor gave him a mock salute, as he and Rose stepped down onto the stone walkway leading up to the palace’s front door. Hand in hand, they walked up to the entrance while the guards surrounded them. With spears at their backs, they walked through the open door and into the dimly lit interior of the palace. Despite being afraid, Rose couldn’t help but marvel at the enormous statues of various gods that lined the walkway. After more than a year of traveling with the Doctor, she was finally starting to see how he could be so intrigued with the surroundings even when they were in the midst of danger. Even though she had no idea what was about to happen, she couldn’t help but be enchanted by the palace’s décor. She had seen pictures in books growing up, but nothing could ever compare to seeing it first hand. Rose and the Doctor paused when they reached a huge pair of golden doors. They watched, as two guards opened them and then with a shove from behind they walked through. The guards followed them closely, as they walked up to a small golden throne sitting on a raised platform in front of them. They reached the edge of the platform. Suddenly the Doctor let out a grunt as the captain took the butt of his spear and hit him hard in the back of his knee, causing him to fall on the front of them with a groan. “That’s for daring to order me around,” the captain said, sneering. The Doctor glared at him. His eyes widened when a guard grabbed Rose by the shoulders and threw her to her knees. The guard gasped when the Doctor reared up and grabbed his arm. “Do that again and you’ll have me to deal with,” he snarled. His head jerked forward when the captain took the butt of the spear and struck him in the back of the head. He chuckled gleefully when the Doctor fell back onto his knees and rubbed the back of his head. “Not so high and mighty now, are you?” he taunted. The Doctor glared at him. “If I were you, I wouldn’t make me angry,” he said. “You wouldn’t like to see me completely pissed off.” The captain smirked. Suddenly, with incredible swiftness, he grabbed Rose’s hair and jerked her head back while at the same time unsheathing a dagger and placing it against her throat. He chuckled when he saw the panicked look on the Doctor’s face while Rose whimpered softly. “Now, that I have your attention,” the captain said with glee. “I want you to sit beside your friend here and behave yourself. Cause any trouble and…well….I can’t be sure my hand won’t slip and slice her throat open.” For emphasis, he jerked the knife against Rose’s skin. The Doctor’s eyes widened in horror when two small drops of blood ran down her neck into her shirt. “You bastard,” the Doctor said, through gritted teeth. “The captain chuckled with amusement. “Just behave yourself and you won’t have to witness that again,” he said. He smirked. “So, are you going to be a good little prisoner from now on?” He yanked on Rose’s hair and watched with glee when the Doctor’s face turned red with anger. His grin widened, as the Doctor slowly nodded his agreement. “Good, I’m glad we finally see eye to eye,” he said. Rose let out a gasp when he let go of her hair and took the dagger away from her neck. The Doctor moved closer to her and put his arm around her shoulder while Rose rubbed the wounded place on her neck. “Okay, I’m really starting to hate ancient Egypt now,” she muttered. “Rose? Are you okay?” the Doctor asked. Rose nodded. The Doctor glared up at the captain while he and the other soldiers snickered. Their attention turned towards the throne when a gong was sounded and a door near the back was opened. The Doctor and Rose gasped, as the soldiers grabbed them by the shoulders and forced them to bow before they bowed behind them. The Doctor moved his head to the side and looked at Rose who had done the same and was staring back at him. “I’m so sorry I brought you here, Rose,” he whispered. “Nah, it’s not your fault,” she whispered back. The Doctor let out an, “Oof” when the captain hit him in the rear with the butt of his spear. “Silence!” he commanded. The Doctor rolled his eyes. He slowly inched his hand over and rested it on top of Rose’s hand, as someone entered the room and sat in the throne in front of them. Once the person had settled in the throne, the signal was given, and the Doctor and Rose got onto to their knees while the soldiers stood up. The Doctor and Rose looked up at the man in front of them. He was a middle-aged man, slightly overweight, wearing a loincloth and a collar of gold around his neck. He regarded them silently for a moment before turning his attention to the captain. “Captain Amenemhet, please explain the presence of these two in my throne room,” he said to him. Amenemhet dropped to one knee. “Governor Kahotep, these two have been accused of aiding a thief who stole the sacred scroll of Thoth from the royal archives this afternoon,” he said. “We have not been able to capture the actual thief yet, but with your permission, we would like to go ahead and torture these two for information on his whereabouts.” The Doctor squeezed Rose’s hand when he heard her let out a gasp. Kahotep silently stared at the Doctor and Rose. “Do you wish to name your accomplice and save yourself the agony of the torture room?” he asked them. The Doctor glanced at Rose. “Your honor, your lordship, or whatever it is you go by,” the Doctor began. “My friend and I had no part in stealing this scroll of Thoth. As for the kid who did steal it, my friend and I have never seen him before. We just happened to be in his path when he was running back to his…getaway…chariot. That’s all. He left in his…chariot and disappeared. “Lies.” Amenemhet muttered. The Doctor shot him a glance and started to say something. He closed his mouth when he smirked and fingered the hilt of his dagger. He turned back to Kahotep. “It is not lies, sir. My friend and I are innocent and if you search us, you’ll find no scroll,” he said. Kahotep sat and regarded them silently. He looked at the Amenemhet. “Captain, what say you?” he asked. “I don’t believe him for a moment. They know where the scroll is, I just need a bit of persuasion to get the truth out of them.” The Doctor glared at him. “You just want to torture us, full stop.” He let out a grunt, as Amenemhet smacked him in the face. “This one needs to be taught some manners, anyway,” He said. “He humiliated me in front of my men and delayed our coming here by forcing me to deal with a dirty, filthy peasant and his trivial matter.” He paused and looked the Doctor in the eyes daring him to say something. He smirked when the Doctor glowered at him. Kahotep stared at Rose and the Doctor while he weighed everything. Finally, he looked at the captain. “Take them both to a cell until we can figure out what to do with them. If they are guilty, I do not want them running off,” he said. “No!” the Doctor said. “You can’t do this.” “Permission to torture, my Lord?” Amenemhet asked. Kahotep considered that for a moment and then nodded. Rose gasped and clutched the Doctor’s hand. The Doctor glared at the governor. “You can do what you want with me. But I swear, if any of you lay one finger on Rose, they’ll be hell to pay!” he said angrily. “Silence!” Kahotep commanded. “This is a travesty!” The Doctor ranted. “You have no evidence against us. All you have to go on is this git’s testimony, and he’s only out for revenge because I bossed him around.” “I said, silence!” The Doctor gritted his teeth when Amenemhet grabbed Rose’s hair and put his dagger against her throat. “I believe you were commanded to be quiet,” he said, with a sneer. The Doctor fell silent while Amenemhet looked at his men and snickered. The Doctor took hold of Rose’s hand when the captain released her hair and took away the dagger. Kahotep glared at them. “Captain, take these two away from me. I want them out of my sight. In addition, do what you have to in order to get the truth from them. The scroll of Thoth is priceless, and I won’t lose it to a bunch of peasant thieves. Throw them in the dungeon.” “At once, my Lord,” Amenemhet said, delighted. The Doctor and Rose grunted as they were seized from behind, dragged to their feet, and dragged away from the throne room to the dungeons below.
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