CHARLOTTE ::: DW¹

xlv. ticking clocks

Pierre, in his nervousness, may have overshared but all it did was make Charlotte understand she was in the same position as him. Despite hiding her relationship with John Smith, the love she had for him survived his death and the return of the Doctor. The feelings that were hidden so long were reciprocated for just days before they had to be hidden again. For their own good; she was Aino, it's known their friendship was rocky, and Charlotte is still only a human.

Like Pierre, in her own moment of heartbreak, Charlotte turned to a stranger. She admitted this to him and, realizing they were both in the same shoes, Charlotte and the Lord of Archambault agreed to go to one more dance together before they went their separate ways. This ball was going to be grander than any other; they were going to dance, but not in the awkward way they did before.

In the carriage the next night, Charlotte wore her favorite emerald green dress as she looked out the window. She trusted Pierre to get them invited to the best party he could find, but as the carriage arrived at the Palace of Versailles- which had many fashionable guests piling in- she raised an eyebrow at Pierre.

Pierre said nothing more than a chuckle before he stepped out of the carriage. On Charlotte's side, the carriage driver opens her door. Pierre runs to her side, holding out his elbow for her to take as they walk into the Palace together.

"How did you get into this ball?" she questioned in awe as her eyes shot around to notice every extravagant detail. "You're well known, but this is the King's palace..."

"Friends," he said as they began walking up the stairs.

---

While the interior of the ballroom was more beautiful than any other they've been in and the guests were even more impressive, the friends found the party no different than any other they've attended. Charlotte may be the type who takes all the details no matter where she is, but this time she was focused on her conversation with Pierre.

"Where will you go after this?" he wondered.

Charlotte shrugged as they waltzed. "I'll probably go to London, you?"

He said he's going to go back to Archambault, where he'll pull through his previous breakup. "What will you do in London?"

She was going to look for time travelers, of course, she couldn't admit that. Charlotte vaguely tells Pierre: "I'm looking for someone."

When the song changed, the two left the dance floor. Speaking with another Lord and Lady, who were genuinely nice, neither Pierre nor Charlotte paid attention to those on the dance floor until the men began lining up on one side of the floor and the women on the other for a surprise dance with a stranger.

Joining in, the two go at different ends of the line, and when Charlotte looks ahead of herself her heart drops. When the instrumentalists began playing, Charlotte and the Doctor had no choice but to begin dancing with each other alongside the other partygoers- including Reinette and the King of France.

Five hours ago, however, Charlotte and Pierre were having their deepest conversation. She asked him, in reference to the woman he once loved, "What would you say to her the next time you meet?" And once he answered, he asked the same question back to Charlotte.

Like Pierre, Charlotte had a lot of different things she wanted to say to the Doctor. An ordinary conversation being one of them, but the top thing she'd want to admit was the truth in order to not hide from the haunting fact.

That's what she wanted to tell him during the dance, to get it out of the way before the rest of their time. She didn't want to hear 'next time' or 'eventually.' "I'm dying," she said instead of a greeting.