It is His TARDIS, she recognizes, converted by a malicious hand into a bringer of destruction. Never would He Himself be able to hurt her (the TARDIS, that is, she who owns His heart in a way no human or Time Lord could rival) in this way. And Reinette cannot undo the damage; the things she saw in His mind may be good for little things like building sonic jewelry and reconfiguring fireplace portals, but not nearly clear enough to risk working on the TARDIS herself.

So she exits the TARDIS, makes her way through what seems to be some sort of airship. Not like the R101, held up with hydrogen, but something more sophisticated. Much more sophisticated--in general, she would estimate maybe early 21st century, but she knows that deep within the bowels of the ship there must exist innovations which should not exist in that time.

A UNIT crest can be seen on the wall.

Not knowing where she is or where she is going, Reinette turns and enters a room. Inside a woman in a red dress kneels in front of a bed, her head lying upon it, crying.

"Pourquoi pleurez-vous?" Reinette asks.

The woman looks up and blinks. "Je . . .Je . . ." she begins, then breaks off and switches to English, which is clearly her native language. "I don't know," she says, still crying, then adds, "I don't want this anymore."

He would not know how to deal with this situation. But here is a situation where Reinette has access to skills He would not have. She walks across the room, sits down on the bed, rests a hand on the woman's shoulder. "There, there," she says, comfortingly. "Tell me about it."

The woman looks up at Reinette, searching for something. "Who are you?"

Reinette has no answer but the truth. "Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, Duchesse de Pompadour."

The woman says nothing for a moment, but the tears seem to have stopped for the moment. Then she gives a wry laugh. "You just might be at that," she admits.

"Et vous?"

The woman starts as if disbelieving Reinette doesn't know who she is, then gives another mirthless laugh. "Lucy," she answers. "Lucy Saxon." She spits out her surname as if it is a curse.

"Well, Lucy," Reinette says, giving Lucy's shoulder a squeeze, "tell me your story."

Lucy does.

---

In ancient Persia, Manichean priests taught there were two worlds, one of light and one of darkness. Theforces of Lightsent forth Nāšā Qaḏmāyā, the first man, asits representative, while the forces of Darkness sent forth a demon, Greed. It occurs to Reinette that the story of the Doctor and the Master isn't all that different. She's seen His memories of the Master, their long history together, knows as no one else in the multiverse does the bond which at ones binds and repels them. Their battles are epic, their feats legendary.

Less epic, not quite so legendary, but nonetheless tragic and powerful even if they are not remembered, are the stories of the women they've left behind.