The Green Soul

Chapter 1

WELCOME BACK PLEASE ENJOY

Rose Tyler had been pouring over the same very big book for a very long time.  She'd expressed a moment of interest in the 1800s, and the Doctor had let out a cry of delight and bustled her into the library, nattering on about any piece of trivia he could give her.  He pointed out a section in the library filled with thick, leather bound books that he was sure she would find interest in. 

"You get started on one of these," he said, "and I'll find somewhere for us to go."

He had dashed out of the room, leaving her standing, blinking, in the center of the library.

So, she'd picked up a book that was an overview of the 1800s as a whole and had spent hours reading about royals and marriages of convenience, finding herself completely enthralled in every word.  The TARDIS had lit a fire for her, and a light had turned on next to her chair to keep her from straining her eyes. 

She completely lost track of time, forgetting all about the Doctor wanting to take her somewhere, and curled up more and more on the couch, eventually hunting for a blanket to tuck around her while she read.  Every piece of information seemed like it was meant for her to find, and she was very much there to eat it up.  She ended up halfway through the book before she reached a point of women's fashion.

 "As the 18th century draws to a close, women's fashion takes on some changes. In art and architecture, many things from ancient Greece had become fashionable and this has an effect on fashion too. Skirts become narrower and waists higher. Gowns have less lace, frills, and ruffles. Some fashions in the early 1800's made women look much like statues of Greek goddesses."

Rose wrinkled her nose and skimmed the rest of that page.  She found herself being much more fond of the women's styles with the ruffles and lace and frills. 

"the era of the skirt began in 1860, bringing with it the round hoop.  As the skirt developed, the back emphasis saw the creation of the first bustle, which had appeared by 1868. The big, soft, high and very draped bustle skirt enjoyed its popularity for 8 years.

In the 1860s, the bodice waist became short but the dropped shoulders remained. Sleeves narrowed and although fitted at the wrist, a little width was available at the elbow.

To emphasize the wide neckline on evening dresses, collars following the décolleté were made of pleated fabric, ruffles, or lace. In fact fringe, braid and lace were in their element and widely used. Fabric stayed lightweight with taffeta, silk and wool blends being the most popular. Dresses tended to be made of one fabric but with lace or trim for interest."

Rose hummed in agreement at that, finding if she were ever to go there, she would much rather go to the 1860s.  She shuffled that away in the corner of her mind, saving it for later to mention to the Doctor. 

However, thinking about that time period did bring up memories of Reinette, and made her huff out a frustrated breath and turn the page of her book probably a bit more aggressively than necessary.  It was hard to hate Reinette, though, because deep down Rose knew she'd been a good woman, she'd researched her when they came home.

But the jealousy she felt for the other woman was undeniable, which frustrated her to no end, because she had no right to be jealous, the Doctor wasn't hers.  She grumbled to herself at the thought and flicked another page right past men's fashion. 

She tried to push any thoughts she was having about Reinette and the Doctor out of her head and focused on her book again, ignoring the TARDIS's night cycle starting to set in, too engrossed in what she was doing.

Too engrossed, that is, until she heard hollering through the halls of the TARDIS.  She lifted her head, furrowing her brows, and listened to the sounds of whatever ruckus was going on outside the library doors.  She knew it had to be the Doctor, so she wasn't worried at all, it was just a question of what he was doing.

"Rose?" She heard him call down the hallway, his footsteps echoing off the grating of the corridor.

"I'm still in the library, Doctor!" she called back before burrowing back under the blanket.

The door swung open and the Doctor stood in the doorway, looking confused.  "I thought we were going somewhere," he said sheepishly.

Rose bit her lip to keep from smiling at his expression.  "M'sorry, Doctor, I just sort of got caught up in this book.  It was your idea, letting me loose in here, after all," she grinned up at him.  "I'm about halfway through it."

The Doctor arched an eyebrow and walked over to sit next to her on the couch.  "Really?  Halfway through?"  He pulled the book from her hands and examined how far through she was.  "Blimey, Rose, halfway through in three hours, how'd you manage that?"

"It's a good read," Rose shrugged.  "I mean, I'm sure you've read it, haven't you?"

"At some point, probably," the Doctor agreed, dog-earring the page and handing the book back to her.  "You seem to forget you don't need to research a time period before we go there."

"Yeah, well," Rose shrugged.  "I was interested.  Plus, look at this story I found."

She flipped back in the book to another page she had marked for later and forgotten about.  "It's this part about this couple, Marie and Ben Glasser.  They were this normal couple, good in society, pretty wealthy, went to church every Sunday.  But it says here they both just up and died on July 14th, 1869.  Everyone says it's a supernatural thing."

The Doctor took the book from her again and slipped his glasses on.  Rose really did try not to stare, and was doing alright at it until the tip of his tongue touched the back of his teeth.  She gave up and watched as he studied the page she'd left on.

"'Ben and Marie Glasser of Wales, England died in their home on July 14th,1869.  They were found dead in their lavish parlor, dressed for the day and appearing to have sat down for tea.'  Alright, odd enough, listen to this..." The Doctor hummed in the back of his throat.  "'The two of them did not have any wounds on their physical bodies, leading neighbors and other people living in the area to believe that they were killed by a spirit'."

"So they obviously thought it was something paranormal, but that sort of stuff isn't really real, is it?"  She asked.

The Doctor lifted a shoulder.  "There's something to be said for the supernatural.  Most things humans perceive to be ghosts are just echoes from the past bleeding through the cracks in the universe to the present.  But those pieces can't interact with those in the present, they don't know they exist.  So no, I don't think it was a supernatural occurrence."

Rose turned on the couch so she was facing his side, her elbow on the top of the couch and her head cradled in her palm.  She drew her knees closer to her chest.  "So what do you think it is?"

The Doctor threw Rose a look she knew very well.  One that sent excitement into her heart and got her ready for any adventure that could possibly come their way, and for them, it could really be anything.  He gave her a wicked smile.

"Want to find out?"