A Creature at Downton

By: i-live-for-television

Chapter 1:

Jimmy was at the dining table but his mind was faraway. The movements he made were mechanic but he had finally found a way to eat his dinner that convinced everybody he was still present.

Deep in his mind Jimmy reminisced. He had never paid much attention to emotions, his life always seemed like a long list of rules that he was born to follow.

He thought everything would change when his parents died, but all he found was that life only changed in one way; the list of rules grew longer and longer and he continued to abide by them, his emotions never compromising what he needed to do to live. Everything was so easy to follow and if something went wrong he fixed it. He had always been able to fix it.

That was until he met Mr Thomas Barrow.

'a strange looking man with a fetish for cigarettes' Jimmy thought but grimaced at the description 'well.. not strange exactly..just different' Jimmy found that he could never quite put into words how he thought Thomas looked.

A memory of Thomas standing next to him at the piano appeared in his head. Thomas was grinning happily as Jimmy played the Passacaglia by Handel, a song that Thomas had requested of him, Jimmy smiled back trying to show off his ability to play as he kept his eyes on Thomas rather than the keys.

Jimmy's eyes widened as he sat upright in his chair blinking a few times to bring him back to the present. He looked around the table, Alfred and Ivy were chatting to each other about cooking although Alfred looked much more enthused about the conversation than Ivy. Jimmy often felt like grabbing hold of Alfred and yelling in his face 'You're a rotten flirt! stop trying she's not interested!'. But instead he just watched in silent frustration.

"Jimmy!" Mrs Patmore called from the kitchen.

Jimmy rolled his eyes and sighed resentfully as he stood up from the table and went into the kitchen

"Mrs Patmore?" he answered.

"Jimmy yes! you'll need to take this tray to Mr Barrow's room" she handed the tray to Jimmy with more force than necessary.

Even though he had forgiven Thomas a few weeks ago for the awkward encounter in his bedroom he still found it uncomfortable to be alone with him in Thomas' room.

'Don't be stupid he saved you from a beating, the least you can do is give him dinner' Jimmy thought as he made his way up the stairs to Thomas' room. He hesitated for a moment before knocking.

"Mr Barrow?" he called from outside.

"Come in" Thomas' voice answered.

Jimmy walked in keeping his eyes on the tray as he spoke " I've brought up a tray from Mrs Patmore"

"Oh..Thank you Jimmy" Thomas' said in quiet nervousness.

"I'll just leave it here" Jimmy still hadn't made eye contact with Thomas since entering the room. He placed the tray on the bedside table before daring to look up.

Thomas' once seemingly unscathed complexion was now textured with fading scratches and bruises

'..my fault' Jimmy thought.

"How's your.." Jimmy gestured his hand towards Thomas' injuries "..How are you feeling?"

Thomas perked up at Jimmy's interest "Oh" He said shyly "I'll be fine, still a bit sore but no need to worry, I'm quite sure I'll start working again tomorrow" Thomas replied, a small smile playing on the corners of his lips, it seemed he too struggled to make eye contact with Jimmy.

"Well that's good news Mr Barrow, it'll be nice to have you downstairs again" Jimmy gave Thomas a quick nod and left the room.

Once Thomas' door was closed Jimmy decided to retire for bed early. Halfway to his room he heard a mad footsteps coming up from the stairs.

"Jimmy" Alfred said loudly as he rounded the corner to the hallway of the staff rooms.

"What Alfred?" Jimmy called back.

"Carson wants to talk to us, you need to come back downstairs" Alfred gestured his head to the stairs then disappeared down them with Jimmy following closely behind.

"James, Alfred as you very well know today was Mr Bates last day, therefore we will be welcoming his replacement tomorrow and I'm expecting one of you to show him to his room and his Lordship's." Mr Carson said formally.

"Who is he Mr Carson?" Alfred asked blatantly.

"Sebastian Aldaine, but to you two Mr Aldaine." Carson replied, his hands clasped tightly together on the desk in front of him. "He'll be arriving early in the morning-at around five o' clock and I expect one of you to be there to greet him, you can decided on whom.

"Yes Mr Carson" the footmen said almost in complete unison as they left the room.

"I wonder how old he is?" Alfred asked, his expression confused as if he were trying to picture the new valet without any idea what he looks like.

"Does it matter?" Jimmy replied.

Alfred shrugged "What if he's our age?..no he couldn't be a valet, not at our age. I wonder what he looks like..what if he's lame like Mr Bates?"

Jimmy grit his teeth in irritation "Does. it. matter.?"

"I'spose not..but it'd be nice if Carson gave us a bit more detail though, I mean he is going to work with us" Alfred rambled on, not noticing Jimmy's growing annoyance.

"Right, okay I'm off to bed" said Jimmy as he began speeding off to his room.

"Jimmy! wait a minute we still need to work out who's going to greet him" Alfred called out.

Jimmy exhaled loudly and spun around on the spot "Alright then, to save him the irritation of your bloody questions Alfred, I'll do it. " He heard a barely audible gasp but ignored it and went straight to his room, falling asleep barely ten minutes later.

"Jimmy" Alice said placing a hand on the side of Jimmy's face "Jimmy, do you love me?"

Jimmy stared into her big brown eyes. He was 18 and had never been asked that question before. He knew Alice was beautiful. her hair was shiny and the colour of chocolate, her lips were full and pink and her skin was completely unblemished except for the few freckles that were sprinkled around her nose.

Yes she was certainly beautiful. But did he love her?

he stroked his fingers through her hair and stared more intensely into her eyes than he ever had before.

And felt nothing.

'Why don't I love her?..I should love her shouldn't I?'

Jimmy awoke to the loud chiming of his alarm clock. He instantly sprung out of bed, eagerly wanting to be distracted from his vivid dream. He threw on his uniform and as usual spent most of the time that he had allowed himself to get ready perfecting his hair.

He walked downstairs and waited near the entrance door for the new valet. Barely a minute later three loud knocks sounded from the outside of the door, startling Jimmy a bit.

He opened the door to find a man most likely in his late twenties standing before him. The man was taller than Jimmy and wearing a tweed brown three piece suit. He had pale skin and an oval shaped face with soft features. His hair was naturally wavy and medium length but what astonished Jimmy was the unique colour. His hair was a spice brown with golden highlights that shone when he tilted his head to the side.

His eyes were of a rare colour as well, a murky yet warm hazel that just like his hair also glinted gold.

"I'spose you're Mr Aldaine?" Jimmy asked his voice rising higher than intended.

The man smiled exhibiting a glorious display of straight white teeth "Why yes I am, but you can call me Sebastian" His voice was almost unreal, it was British but mixed with something of a European accent.

" I'm Jimmy Kent, first footman here" Jimmy explained.

"Pleasure to meet you Jimmy" he extended a hand out and Jimmy shook it.

"So where am I to put my belongings?" Sebastian said, gesturing his head towards his suitcases.

"Upstairs are the staff rooms, just follow me" Jimmy said.

They stopped outside the staff dining room first. "This is our dining room, you'll have to come down here after you're finished with his Lordship so I can introduce you to the rest of the staff"

Sebastian glanced around the room and nodded to Jimmy before they continued along their way.

"This is marvellous looking house, isn't it?" Sebastian remarked studying the home as they walked up the stairs to the staff rooms together.

"It's a bit to take in when you first come here, but you get used to it" Jimmy replied, taking notice of the graceful and light footed way Sebastian walked up the stairs and into the staff rooms hallway.

"Seems a lot to get used to" Sebastian smirked "Jimmy do tell me something"

"Tell you what?" He replied holding Sebastian's door open for him.

"Because you're title's first footman there must be a second, correct?" Sebastian asked politely.

'why does he bloody care about that?' Jimmy thought.

"Well Alfred's second footman" Jimmy leaned against up against the wall, waiting for Sebastian to unpack.

"And I suppose there's no third?" Sebastian asked.

"No. just two" Jimmy replied promptly.

There were a few minutes of silence as Sebastian began unpacking his suitcases.

Jimmy glanced around the room, his gaze finally settling on Sebastian's hair "I've got to ask, what are you going to do about your hair.. it seems a bit-"

"Long" Sebastian said finishing off Jimmy's sentence. "Well, if you must know I can slick it back, sometimes I tie it. You'll find it looks quite presentable after I'm finished with it"

"Or you could..cut it" Jimmy responded uncaringly.

Sebastian laughed "Unfortunately Jimmy, short hair doesn't suit me."

Jimmy replied with a nod while trying to picture Sebastian with short hair.

"Here I'll show you" said Sebastian while grabbing a jar of pomade out of his bag. "Actually, just give me a minute I'll change into the uniform Mr Carson gave me as well, just to give you the full effect"

"Alright" Jimmy replied stepping out of the room and closing the door behind him.

He leant up against the wall waiting for Sebastian. It took maybe five minutes and then Sebastian walked out in full uniform.

'Damnit' Jimmy thought.

Sebastian looked even more professional than Jimmy did. His hair was slicked back which made his cheekbones prominently stand out. Even his valet's livery fit him perfectly.

Sebastian shot him a confident smile. "So?"

"Alright I see what'ya mean" Jimmy snapped. "Follow me, I'll take you to his Lordships room"

They walked in silence and then stopped outside his Lordships door.

"I'spose you know what to do now?" Jimmy asked.

"Yes, thank you very much for your help Jimmy" Sebastian replied.

"I'll be off then, come down to the staff's dining room when you're done here" Jimmy said and parted ways with Sebastian.

He took his time walking downstairs to the dining room and made himself a cup of tea, taking a slower than usual fifteen minutes to drink it. His mind pondered over the new valet.

"Morning Jimmy" Ivy said, walking out of the kitchen with a dishcloth and cup in hand.

"Mornin' Ivy" he greeted her.

"How're yo-" Ivy stopped mid sentence her attention appeared to be fixated on the entrance to the dining room.

Jimmy looked over to see Sebastian walking towards him the light that shone overhead made the gold tones in Sebastian's his hair and eye's stand out.

"Jimmy" he nodded. "And who's this?" Sebastian gestured his head towards Ivy who's facial expression was the epitome of awestruck.

"That's Ivy, and Ivy that's Sebastian the new valet" Jimmy said in a bored tone.

"Lovely to meet you Ivy" Sebastian grinned.

"Nice to meet you too" Ivy replied shyly.

The rest of the staff were beginning to pile in now, Jimmy went around went around introducing Sebastian to them all, growing immediately tired of everyone's shocked expressions when they first laid eyes on him.

When Jimmy thought everyone had been introduced, he went to sit by the piano, Sebastian following closely behind.

Jimmy looked through the sheet music trying to decide what song to practise, that was until Sebastian lightly nudged him in the arm "Who's he?" Sebastian asked, his voice growing deeper until it sounded almost like a growl.

Jimmy gritted his teeth at the nudge before looking over to the entrance to see Thomas dressed in full uniform.

"Mr Barrow" Jimmy replied

"I'd definitely like meet him " Sebastian said, his eye's never leaving Thomas.

Jimmy sighed angrily, although Sebastian took no notice he seemed completely focused on Thomas.

"Come on then" Jimmy hurried Sebastian over to Thomas.

"Mr Barrow this is-" Jimmy started.

"Sebastian Aldaine, his Lordships new valet" Sebastian cut Jimmy off and introduced himself. He extended his hand out while flashing Thomas the most genuine smile he had given anyone all day.

Thomas jaw dropped but snapped back up in a split second. It seemed to take him a moment to process what he was looking at before he began speaking .

"Thomas Barrow.. I'm the under butler here" He said, shaking Sebastian's extended hand.

Sebastian's eyes flickered around Thomas' face before continuing "Ah, so I take it you're my superior Mr Barrow?

Jimmy noticed a faint change in colour on Thomas' face.

"Yes, technically speaking I am..your superior" said Thomas.

"But you're so young?" Sebastian mused.

"I can assure you that I'm old enough" said Thomas whose cheeks were obviously reddening.

"You're certainly not old Mr Barrow! to be honest I was truly terrified that I'd only be under the supervision of Mr Carson" Sebastian whispered, leaning in closer to Thomas "How fantastic it is that I'll be under your control as well, you certainly look like a lot more fun." Sebastian smiled cheekily at Thomas who directed his eyes towards the ground, a smile almost engulfing his whole face.

Jimmy squinted his eyes at the conversation unfolding before him.

"So Mr Barrow..may I call you Thomas?" Sebastian asked in the exquisite of voices.

"Yes" Thomas replied without a moment's hesitation.

"I've always liked that name you're a very lucky man! my name sounds ridiculous you see, it's as if it was taken straight out of a fairytale" said Sebastian.

"No, no it's not it-" Thomas stuttered "it's a nice name..you've got a very nice name"

Jimmy almost scoffed out loud 'is he serious?'

"Well.. I suppose it can't be too bad if you approve of it Thomas" Sebastian replied, his voice sounded unreal, it was husky yet angelic at the same time.

The look on Thomas' face was unreadable, although it hinted strong disbelief.

"I should get back to work" Thomas glanced in Jimmy's direction for a moment before leaving.

When Jimmy turned back to Sebastian he saw a completely different expression, Sebastian's lips were pressed together into a thin line and his eyes were screaming with determination.

"May I ask you something?" Sebastian's eyes were now set on Jimmy, his expression different again, he was oozing with the same sincerity he demonstrated earlier. "About Mr Barrow" he continued.

"What do you want to know about Mr Barrow?" Jimmy asked curiously.

"Does he have a woman?..a wife maybe?" Sebastian looked at Jimmy innocently.

This time Jimmy really did scoff out loud "Mr Barrow!? definitely not"

"Surprising" Sebastian replied "A man his age.. with his looks and his title you think he would have a wife by now maybe a few children"

Jimmy almost laughed "No I can assure you that Mr Barrow won't be having children anytime soon"

Sebastian did nothing but smile and stare in the direction that Thomas went.

Jimmy looked at him and for a moment, just a split second he swore he saw Sebastian's eye's glow completely gold.

The rest of the day was incredibly busy. Jimmy hadn't even had a chance to stand still. Lunch was a quick gulping down of his soup and then he was off again polishing silver, replenishing the fires or doing any of the countless other jobs he was assigned.

By the time dinner came around Jimmy was completely buggered. He sat down in his usual seat and mentally checked off all the jobs had done.

"Mind if I sit here?" an achingly familiar voice interrupted Jimmy's train of thought.

Jimmy turned to the direction of the voice on the other end of the table and sure enough it was Sebastian displaying his set of perfect pearly white teeth in a wide grin.

" I don't mind" Thomas responded quickly.

Sebastian moved his chair closer to Thomas, so unnoticeably that Jimmy would have never realised if he wasn't already watching them.

When Sebastian took his seat he brushed his forearm against Thomas', a gesture that certainly did not go unnoticed by neither Thomas or Jimmy.

"I must ask Thomas, what happened to you?" Sebastian studied the faded bruises on Thomas' face, his golden hazel eyes glinting with curiosity and concern.

Thomas raised a hand to his face automatically and covered the particularly tender spot underneath his eye as if he were ashamed.

"I was" Thomas caught Jimmy's gaze for a moment "I was mugged".

A wash of guilt ran through Jimmy 'how can he stand it..being a hero but not taking an ounce of credit for it".

"You must've put up one hell of a fight" said Sebastian.

"I tried" replied Thomas.

Jimmy clenched his jaw 'should I?' .

Sebastian patted Thomas on the back, making him return his gaze to Sebastian's. "That was incredibly brave of you, I don't know what I would have done in the same situation".

"It was" Jimmy almost whispered from the other side of the table.

"I'm sorry?" Sebastian asked, his hand slowly sliding off Thomas' back, making Thomas shiver.

"It was brave of Mr Barrow" Jimmy continued.

"As I said" Sebastian laughed.

"No you don't-" Jimmy looked around the room nervously, as if he had just made a horrendous mistake. "Mr Barrow he-"

Thomas looked at Jimmy now, his eyes wide with surprise.

"Never mind" Jimmy got up quickly and left the room, leaving a very astonished Thomas behind.

'bloody hell' Jimmy thought to himself when he was back in his room 'he deserves it for what he did, he deserves to have people know why he got in a fight...doesn't he?' Jimmy ran both hands through his hair completely messing it up in the process.

It was only when thinking about Thomas that Jimmy got himself so worked up, he sat down on the chair in his room for a while 'right I'll go down later and tell them' he thought. He spent the next hour deciding whether he would or he wouldn't, eventually deciding that he would.

He made his way Downstairs but stopped outside the entrance of the dining room, peeking in to see who was still there. It was only Thomas and Sebastian in the room, Jimmy moved closer to get a better view and tried to stifle a startled gasp 'What the hell!'

He could see that Sebastian was cupping the side of Thomas' face with his hand, but he didn't look like Sebastian anymore, his pupils had disappeared and now his eyes were completely golden, the roots of his hair were beginning to do the same thing, brown was being replaced with gold. But the most terrifying part was Sebastian's eccentric smile, his teeth were now pointed at the ends, making him look demonic.

Jimmy burst through the entrance, which distracted Sebastian whose face went back to normal as soon as he dropped his hand from Thomas' face.

"Jimmy, I thought you'd gone up" Sebastian's tone was almost as menacing as his expression.

Thomas turned his head to Jimmy. he looked completely dazed even his eyes were glazed over. "Jimmy" he said with a smile.

Jimmy walked closer to them cautiously "What's going on?"

"Nothing at all" Sebastian glared at Jimmy darkly then stood up and made a hasty exit.

Jimmy went straight over to Thomas."Did you see that?!" Jimmy asked but Thomas took no notice he instead was staring at the wall without blinking. He looked to be in a trance.

"Mr Barrow?" he knelt down next to Thomas' chair "Are you alright?"

He heard Jimmy this time and smiled tiredly "Perfectly alright" Thomas replied and got up from his chair slowly, as if it were hard to do so.

Jimmy looked at him concerned "Did you see Sebastian's face?"

"Of course I've seen his face. Quite handsome isn't he?" Thomas said without regret, his eyes still fixated on the wall.

Jimmy stared at him worriedly. "Mr Barrow?"

"I'm feeling quite run down actually Jimmy, I may go up" Thomas said, struggling to keep his eyes open as he began walking to the entrance of the room.

Jimmy nodded "I'll come with you". He walked beside Thomas, watching him closely the whole way to Thomas' door.

"Goodnight Jimmy" Thomas smiled shutting his door slowly.

Jimmy glanced down the hallway to Sebastian's room.

'was that real?..I couldn't have seen that.' He thought, entering his own room and getting into bed. He was so worn out that he drifted off to sleep in a matter of minutes.

"Jimmy!" Thomas yelled from the trees.

"Thomas! where are you!?" Jimmy called back, running into the forest frantically.

"It's trying to take me! Jimmy you need to hurry! please!" Thomas shouted.

"I'll find you! Hold on! Jimmy yelled back.

Jim- Argh!" Thomas shrieked.

Jimmy heard a sickening noise, a noise he never wanted to hear. The sounds of bones being broken and skin being torn apart.

"Thomas please! you must answer me I'm begging you!" He was crying now, He needed to find Thomas, He needed him. He ran as fast as he could falling over broken branches and scratching himself on the twigs as he pushed past the trees.

And then he saw it.

It had wings like a bat and large disfigured hands with ferocious pointed claws, claws which clutched something. No, not at something. At someone.

Jimmy dropped to his knees upon the realisation, that the someone it clutched was Thomas. Parts of Thomas anyway.

"No!" Jimmy screamed.

The creature looked at Jimmy now, it's mouth set in a frightening smile and it's eyes and hair glowing gold.

A/N: Thanks for Reading! I apologise about the grammar and punctuation I've never been good with it so I hope everything made sense. :) Leave reviews if you can they're fantastic motivators for another chapter.