THE GALLIFREY CHRONICLES, THE FALL OF GALLIFREY

A/N Chapter Re-edited and Re-uploaded on 1st June.

Beta read by Lady Catkin

Disclaimer I don't own anything but my plot.

Romana started sprinting down the hall way determined to get away from the Co-ordinator and her guards. She had enough not just of her own troubles, but of Gallifrey's problems too. What she would give now for her Doctor to sweep her up in his arms and make her feel wanted. It would be so nice to be wanted again, to be loved, but no, that was never going to happen. He was gone from her life forever, on her own Gallifrey.

She ran through the Panopticon The floor lifted into a magnificent stair The perfectly sculpted marble met with the beautiful red wood. The split staircase met at the bottom on either side of a wonderful work of art: a sculpture of a man in robes. That had been until she saw and realised who it was off. She shook her head in disgust. Seems on this Gallifrey people still worshipped Rassilon, but he was a betrayer of her own people.

On her Gallifrey he was murdered, both hearts pierced a fitting end perhaps.. He become one of the ancient enemies of her race.

Suddenly a beautiful sound made her stop and she gasped she had not heard it for a while. it was the Gallifrean children from the Academy singing beautiful songs in high old Gallifrean, she thought that language had been lost so very long ago. She listened for a long moment before she glided though the open space before her and into a wide, sweeping corridor, resplendent in the usual ambitious and intricate of Time Lord architecture.

The chancellery guards had struggled to keep up with her, just as Narvin did, but she could hear him shouting her name. Why couldn't he leave her alone? Why was she even stuck with the most useless Time Lord she had ever come across? Of course, she knew she was biased. The Narvin on her Gallifrey looked quite different, but he was an utter fool.

The only other Time Lord she knew was Braxiatel, but there was something not quite right there, something wrong like he was not who he seemed to be. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but he was dangerous that much she did know.

"Romana!" shouted Narvin, sprinting down the hallway towards the lift, trying his level best to keep up with her. After what felt like many spans, he finally caught up with her, leaning forwards so his hands rested on his knees so he could catch his breath. The Chancellery guards weren't too far behind either, but much to Narvin's inward repugnance, were not even in the least bit out of breath. Narvin turned to the Guards and raised a dismissive hand and they departed.

"Oh don't even think of following me Co-ordinator" she said in a low, dangerous tone that told him everything he needed to know. Romana was in a blatantly bad mood and there would be no reasoning with her when she was like that. He had to had to at least try though, she was the only Time Lady on Gallifrey who drove him crazy. He wanted to pin her against that wall and kiss her, anything, whatever it took for her to remember him and what they meant to each other, what she still meant to him. He gently spun her around to face him.

It was the first time she had ever really paid attention to him. He had a kind face, but so much pain in his eyes. She felt his arms go around her waist wrapping her in a solid embrace and without even thinking, she wrapped her arms around him. He kissed her without restraint and she unthinkingly let him, before she finally came to her senses and backed away.

"Romana please, you have to remember." Narvin pleaded with her, already worried she was quickly turning into a Romana he no longer knew. Of course he knew her moods and how she could quickly turn on him with her insults. He'd take anything right now, but all he got was silence and the odd time she told him to leave her alone.

"I think you are forgetting something. I am President of Gallifrey, I don't have to do anything and I will not!" Romana started to sprint off down the hallway, away from Narvin once more.

Narvin groaned, he had forgot how stubborn Romana could be. He started running after her once more. "Romana, please," he pleaded. This isn't helping you or the baby."

She suddenly stopped dead in her tracks."The baby?" she asked "Oh Romana," she muttered, but continued to ignore Narvin trying to get as far away from him as possible. Could she really have gone blundering into this situation and would she now have to pretend to be pregnant? Assuming. No she would not assume anything about this terrible precocious situation, Romana thought silently to herself.

Well there was no way she was sleeping with him to make it happen, the whole idea was absurd. It was like one lie after another. The mere thought of even letting a Co-ordinator even touch her filled her with disgust, let alone having a child with him. She felt disgusted that she had let him kiss her and more so to her inward revulsion was that she had kissed him back.

Finally Narvin caught up with her and took her arm gently. "Madam President, Romana," he said softly and now more out of breath. "I am sorry" he panted "I know this is a lot to take in, but there is something rather pressing that we need to deal with."

"And what might that be?" she glanced indignantly at the Co-ordinator.

"Emmaline, you do remember she is your daughter?"

"Of course I know Emmaline is my daughter." Romana snapped at him. Did he think she was stupid or something, or feel the need to talk to her as if she was a child?

"She is with Brax"

"Well, he is her Tutor" she rubbed her head. "Was her Tutor".

"No. I mean together"

Romana groaned "What is wrong with you all," she pulled away furiously. She had only met Braxiatel a few times, but she had instantly trusted him. He had been kind and concerned for her, as if he did know her, well, that had been her first impression. No, there was more to him and she knew it.

"Where are you going now?" Narvin asked as he felt a growing sense of frustration come upon him.

"To find Braxiatel and find out what the hell he thinks he's up to."

With that she disappeared down the hallway.

Braxiatel wrapped his arms around Emmaline and brushed his lips gently against hers. She quickly returned the kiss. "Brax," she whispered in between kisses, "I want you," she whispered. He pressed her hard against the wall. She wrapped her arms around his neck, but suddenly the door swung open.

"I thought I could trust you!" Romana shouted, jabbing an accusatory finger at them.

Immediately they pulled apart.

"My Lady President," began Brax, giving her a questioning look.

"You keep your hands off my daughter."

"But is she really your daughter?" said a voice standing in the door way of the President's office.

All three figures turned and looked in its direction.

She leaned against the doorway twisting her long dark blonde hair round her fingers. She wore a revealing black top and cargo trousers looking much stronger than the first time Braxiatel had seen her.

"Awen," hissed Braxiatel. "This is not the time or the place."

"Oh I think this is exactly the time."

"Who is this person?" Romana demanded looking down at the girl.

"Tell her Brax or I will tell her myself."

Emmaline sighed. "Oh what a mess this is all becoming,"

Brax put a comforting arm around her. "It's all right," he said softly to Emmaline.

"She's your daughter, the one you lost. Apparently, Rassilon took her, raised her up to whatever she thinks she is right now." Braxiatel replied in a fairly controlled tone.

Romana groaned. "Everything always comes back to Rassilon, doesn't it?"

"Rassilon," whispered Emmaline as the room around her started to spin. She didn't have time to feel her eyes shut or the fact she was caught by Brax and gently lowered to the ground.

Her busy mind was sifting through so much mud that she felt as though she was panning for gold and looking in all the wrong places.

"Emmaline," said Braxiatel. She opened her eyes to see his and Romana's worried expressions.

"Rassilon he-" she tried to say, but the words felt like they were stuck in her throat. Tears fell heavily down her face. "He abused me," she whispered as Braxiatel held her tightly. She cried at the memories she had forgotten. How could she forgot such terrible things? Yet somehow, she had.

She remembered at only eight years old, all through the academy, the abuse he had inflected on her. It had only been physical at first, treating her like an unwanted pet that got under his feet. Then as she gotten older, he had been determined to have her and she had known she was not only one he did it to. She believed for a long time it was normal and then later, she buried the memories so deep inside her that she did not remember it happening.

Should an unwanted nightmare force her relive those horrific moments whilst she slept, she would convince herself that it was all a dream. So it came to pass, that her former world of nightmarish hell was just an uncertain glimmer inside her head.

"Emmaline," Braxiatel looked gravely at her.

"He did it to her too?" she whispered.

"Who?" he asked quietly, as his emotions twisted and turned inside him. He did not know what made him ask. He had suspected the answer before Emmaline would utter that name, the only name that would ever make him want to tear Rassilon's limbs apart piece by piece. He knew he was capable of that. If Rassilon was not already dead, then that was the fate that Braxiatel ensure he met without delay.

"Everquest," she whispered suddenly.

Braxiatel clenched and unclenched his jaw. Everquest was the one member of his family he had been closest to. She was centuries younger than him and was his baby sister. He knew, bitterly, that he failed her when she needed him. He had only suspected the truth, but sometime after, the President at the time had broken her, changing her into a disturbed little girl which eventually lead to her been exiled. He should have been there to stop it, but he was off world at the time. He never saw her again.

"You are a liar!" screamed Awen "he was my father! He would never touch you, let alone look at you. This is just a sick story you cobbled together out of jealousy and the fact that you need to be the centre of attention. Don't dare use my father as an excuse for you to get pitied".

Awen's eyes were filled with pain and rage, but this was obviously more than just hearing about what Rassilon had done, mused Braxiatel.

He had heard stories before about Rassilon, but nobody had ever come out and spoke of his true nature.

He remembered Erisa, his wild child cousin who had continually broken laws and rebelled against Gallifrey. He never knew what happened to her after she stopped travelling with the Doctor, but quite possibly she broke away from Time Lord society and that was down to Rassilon, he knew it without a doubt.

"I don't lie," stated Emmaline gritting her teeth. "Your father was an evil dictator who betrayed his own people."

"You calculating little cow!" screamed Awen launching herself at her, grabbing her hair as Emmaline gave as much back.

"You little brat!" screamed Emmaline, but Awen managed to slam Emmaline's head against the wall several times before Braxiatel pulled the two girls apart, but not before Emmaline slapped Awen.

"Stop! You are going to hurt her." warned Braxiatel.

"That is the general idea," Awen spat. "I will kill you!" screamed Awen as she attempted to attack Emmaline again.

"I don't think so," said Narvin calmly, appearing in the room restraining her and leading her away. "I warned you about making trouble".

Emmaline stumbled but Brax managed to catch her. "Are you all right?"

"My head," she groaned as she lost unconsciousness.

When Emmaline woke she was lying in her room in the Presidential quarters in her own room and Brax was sitting by her side. He glanced around the room it was like a childs room almost as if she not quite put away things from her child hood, or maybe she couldn't.

Her bedding had cartoons on it possible a present from the Doctor, they were various childrens books on her dressing this told him was she was still very young to be forced into choosing between people but soon he would make her choose Gallifrey over him.

"Brax," she said.

"How are you feeling? You passed out."

She rested her head on his shoulder, as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him. "Emmaline," he whispered. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Emmaline mumbled into his shoulder as she fell asleep against his shoulder.

Romana sat in silence she felt a deep pain inside her. That could have been her life, but yet she had chosen a different path. Her and the Doctor had not gone out in the wider universe. They had both stayed on Gallifrey and married, raising their daughter and lived a boring but predictable life. What if they had not?

Yes, she had been her people's President, but that's the only exciting thing she ever did. If she had chosen a different path, would her daughter have been so screwed up? She hated the thought of that, and that she would never see her real daughter again.

She was distracted by Narvin talking to her.

"When you were taken, it was hard for me losing both you and Emmaline. She's my daughter you see, but I only found out after it was too late. Losing Emmaline, well, we thought she died."

Suddenly Romana looked pale as she tried to process all this information. It was like she was stuck in some version of an old Earth soap opera.

"Are you all right? Did you remember something?" Narvin asked.

"Romana," said Narvin. "Romana?"

"Yes," said Romana looking at the Co-ordinator.

"Are you all right?"

"I am fine," she said, but she felt anything but fine.

This Gallifrey wasn't her home, she did not belong here. They were not her people, she could not grasp the games people here played. Her hearts ached for the home she had lost, as she felt everything spin around her.

She closed her eyes and waited for the giddiness to pass. Before she tumbled to the ground.

"Madam President, Romana!" kneeling before her realising she had passed out.

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