3

The serving-girl began leading me through the house, where I instantly became lost. The many corridors were like a labyrinth, connecting with each other in a way I couldn’t follow. Everything was as vast as the entrance hall had been, with high ceilings and windows, decorated with art in that bright colour scheme Koturians apparently loved. It was still amazing to me that only one family lived here and that there were four more floors like this.

‘Are you married?’ I asked, still fascinated by the process. ‘Have you gone through the, uh, Phasing? Oh, and I didn’t catch your name.’

‘Wira, miss. And, no, I haven’t had that honour.’ She sighed. ‘And sometimes I don’t know if I ever will.’

‘But you must have time, right?’ Wira seemed young to me, but I didn’t know how long the Koturian window lasted. ‘Or are you like Jonos?’

‘No, I have time.’ She brightened, but there was a wistful look to her at the same time. ‘I’m so glad he’s going to be able to do it. I wonder what he’ll look like afterwards.’

‘Is the new appearance random?’ I asked, thinking of Time Lord regenerations. ‘Or is there a pattern?’

‘You have some control over it,’ she explained. ‘Your will and the strength of your love. And the Imori stone.’

‘The what?’

‘They’re sacred stones found on our world. The bride and groom rest their hands on one during the ceremony, and its divine power amplifies their love in order to complete the transformation.’

I pondered this, wondering how much ‘divine power’ truly played a role. If I knew the Doctor, he’d probably have a more scientific explanation.

Wira’s expression grew dreamy as she gestured me to a stairwell. ‘I have a hard time imagining Jonos changing, though. He’s already so handsome. How could he get any better?’

I couldn’t help a smile. ‘Sounds like you wouldn’t mind being his bride.’

Even under the veil, I could see her flush. ‘Oh no. I couldn’t. Not someone like me. He wouldn’t give me a second thought.’

‘Someone kind and pretty? Seems like you could get a third and fourth thought.’ Her blush deepened.

We finally reached a set of double doors that opened up to an enormous suite with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. A giant marble tub sat off to one side.

‘It doesn’t matter,’ said Wira. She touched a small panel on the tub’s edge, and jets in the bottom of the basin began spraying water into it. ‘He’d never be interested in me. He’s so clever and wonderful. It’s why it took him so long to find someone suitable. Lania – she’s a real lady. She may be from another planet, but she’s obviously high-bred and sophisticated.’

‘Lania’s his fiancée?’

‘Yes.’ Wira touched another part of the panel, and cleverly placed lights in all colours turned on in the tub, lighting it up in a rainbow display. Nothing plain for these Koturians. ‘She’s a brilliant woman. So clever. So cultured. It’s no wonder Jonos fell for someone like her.’ Wira’s unspoken thought, I realised, was that he couldn’t fall for someone like her.

She seemed so forlorn about her unrequited love that I didn’t ask anything more about the wedding. I felt a little silly going through so much primping for an event where I didn’t even know the couple, but Wira clearly did this on a regular basis and was brisk and efficient about her work. It seemed to distract her from her earlier woes, and she began to grow enthusiastic as she described other facets of Koturian life to me. I soon became absorbed as well, still amazed at a civilisation that had modelled itself on one of the most notorious cities on Earth.

It only took her about an hour to make me into an acceptable wedding guest, and I stared at myself in the mirror with amazement, hardly able to believe what she’d achieved in so little time. My hair was done up in elaborate braids, and the make-up, though extreme by Earth standards, was in line with what I’d seen among the Koturian women on the streets. It was as much art as ornamentation, with fanciful flowers and swirls along my cheeks and at the corners of my eyes, all in greens that matched the long dress I wore. It seemed a shame when she offered me a veil like she wore.

‘Do I have to?’ I asked.

Wira shrugged. ‘It goes with the dress, but it’s not required. There’ll be plenty of off-worlders without them.’

Her words reminded me of the main reason for this spa day, and I wondered how exactly I was supposed to act on the Doctor’s unspoken suggestion to find the bride. ‘What about Lania? Does she follow your customs?’

‘Oh yes. She’s taken to them quite readily … though she still follows many of her own ways. She has her own servants and keeps her wing very private.’

I mulled over Wira’s words as she led me back through the maze of corridors. When we reached the ground floor, I noticed a stairwell leading down. I came to a halt. ‘There are levels underground too?’

‘Two of them,’ Wira confirmed. ‘Those are the levels Lania lives in.’

‘Oh?’ I took a few steps towards the doorway. ‘Could I take a look around?’

‘Oh no! I told you, privacy is very important to her. None of us dares to –’ The girl gasped as a group of people suddenly came round a corner, making their way to the lower stairwell. ‘It’s her! Come on.’ Wira grabbed my arm and jerked me over to the side of the hall. She bowed her head, lowering her eyes to the ground in deference.

I had no such obligation and, besides, my curiosity got the better of me. I was dying to see this woman who’d so captivated a Koturian nobleman that he’d been willing to use up his one shot at transformation on her. At first, I couldn’t make out anything because of her entourage. Four flanked her on each side, and it was difficult to tell if they were male or female. They were, however, most definitely not Koturians. They had distinctly reptilian features, with jutting jaws, flat noses and goldish-black scales along their skin. I admit, it wasn’t exactly what I’d had in mind when Evris had said his son’s fiancée was humanoid. I supposed love really was blind.

Then a glimpse of her hand told me she wasn’t reptilian like her attendants. It could’ve been a mirror of mine, and I wished I could get a better look at her face. She wore that fashionable Koturian veil, however, only giving me a quick glimpse of bluish eyes that swept past us in an imperious, dismissive way. Her dress was similar to mine, long and voluminous, though embellished with blue and silver. She’d nearly passed us when she came to an abrupt stop and did a double take. Her eyes widened.

‘You!’ she spat.