Untold Knowledge (Doctor Who x Genius Fem! Oc) [Book 1]

Chapter 71: The Shakespeare Code

Martha looked at them in joyful outrage. "Whoa, you don't mean. Is Shakespeare really in there?"

He grinned down at her with clear amusement. "Indeed, Miss Jones. Will you accompany us to the theatre?"

Her smile grew to incredible levels of excitement. "Mister Smith, I will!"

The Doctor then turned to his Echo. "Beloved? Will you treat this lowly Time Lord to a night of theatre?" he inquired, then kissed the back of her hand gently.

Martha watched with a softening smile as Echo couldn't help but blush. "It would be my honor." They then linked arms and made their way to their next adventure.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the performance had ended, the packed audience of about three thousand applauded the actors for the spectacular show. The Doctor, Echo and Martha were standing in the pit with the rest of the ordinary folk. Martha then leaned closer to her new friends so they could hear her properly. "That was amazing! Just amazing. It's worth putting up with the smell. And those are men dressed as women, yeah?"

"London never changes." the Doctor mused with a massive grin like none Echo had ever seen. She then realized why he was so excited. Shakespeare equals icon.

"Where's Shakespeare? I want to see Shakespeare. Author! Author!" Martha then paused. "Do people shout that? Do they shout 'author'?"

Before Echo could break the news to her, individuals in the crowd began to shout as well. "Author! Author!"

Then the entire crowd took up the chant. "Author! Author!"

The Doctor looked around with an impressed gleam, "Well, they do now."

Only moments later did the man himself walk onto the stage to greet the rapturous applause with an arrogant aura about him. "Genius. He's a genius. The genius. The most human human there's ever been. Now we're going to hear him speak! Always he chooses the best words. New, beautiful, brilliant words. And now we're going to hear him speak!" the Doctor gushed with wholehearted reverence.

"Ah, shut your big fat mouths!" the genius exclaimed, getting a wave of accumulated laughter.

Upon seeing the pout that took over the Doctor's expression made Echo laugh without care of consideration. "Oh, well. Maybe next time, my love." she reassured through the giggles.

"You should never meet your heroes." Martha agreed happily, also amused by his disappointment.

"You've got excellent taste, I'll give you that. Oh, that's a wig." Shakespeare went on playfully, loving the spot light. The undivided attention of a happy audience was what made the plays all the more enjoyable. "I know what you're all saying. Love's Labour's Lost, that's a funny ending, isn't it? It just stops. Will the boys get the girls? Well, don't get your hose in a tangle, you'll find out soon. Yeah, yeah. All in good time. You don't rush a genius." He then suddenly went rigid and his expression fell blank. Echo watched with furrowed brow, suspiciously confused by the unexpected change in demeanor. "When?" he seemed to ask himself. "Tomorrow night. The premiere of my brand new play. A sequel, no less, and I call it Love's Labour's Won!"

Echo's eyes widened; her interest peaked. "Here we go, then." she mumbled to herself, then shared a look with her beloved. Apparently, they weren't leaving just yet.

A short while later, everyone filed out of the theatre while talking amongst themselves. "I'm not an expert, but I've never heard of Love's Labour's Won." Martha said.

The equally intrigued Time Lord nodded, "Exactly. The lost play. It doesn't exist; only in rumors. It's mentioned in lists of his plays but never ever turns up. And no one knows why." he explained.

"Oh! Have either of you got a mini-disc or something? We can tape it. We can flog it. Sell it when we get home and make a mint." Martha said excitedly, half joking.

Echo snorted and shook her head. "That'd be fun to see the other humans scramble to figure out if it's real, but not believing it is."

"That would be bad." her friend then said in understanding.

"Yeah." the Doctor agreed shortly.

"Well, how come it disappeared in the first place?" Martha then asked, eager to learn more.

The Doctor held back a groan as he internally fought with himself. "Well, I was just going to give you a quick little trip in the Tardis, but I suppose we could stay a bit longer."

Echo fist pumped the air happily, "Yes! Now we get to go play with Shakespeare. Come on!" She then took his hand and keenly began tugging him along in the direction of Shakespeare's place of residence.