I'm back. Merry Christmas to all.

Here is my latest creation, something I'm really passionate about. Torchwood (and a bit of Doctor Who thrown in) in a fantasy setting. Prepare yourselves for swords, magic and mythical creatures rather than guns, time travels and aliens. Also, see if you can guess who some of the more interesting characters are based on (the King for example). Answers on a postcard.

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, but if I did the third series would be longer than five episodes.

Couples will appear in the later chapters, but I won't reveal them yet. Well, apart from Jack and Ianto because it wouldn't be a good story without them together.

Allons-y!

Chapter One – New Torchwood Order

"Sir Ianto, knight in training for the Circle of Torchwood, you have been found guilty of treason against our most noble King Harold. Do you have anything to say for yourself before your execution?"

Ianto looked up at the executioner in his black mask and the court official with his impassive expression, and he barely suppressed a grin. He couldn't have picked a better day for his public execution.

The clouds above were a stormy purple and hung dangerously low in the sky. Fat droplets of rain pummelled the townsfolk that had bothered to turn up and watch him die. The ground was little more than sludge beneath their feet. A very sombre mood slowly drifted over the small village that was partly due to the terrible weather and partly due to the oncoming death of one of their own.

Although he could see that the two men clearly wanted an answer, Ianto continued to pause to take in what would be his last view of the living world. From his platform, he could see the tiny house where he grew up. He could see the figures of his mother and father, blurred by the rain. He could see the stretch of forest not far from the village gates where he used to play with his childhood friends. He knew now why the King had sent him home to die; he wanted Ianto to see all this in his final moments.

Finally, Ianto looked up at the bringers of his demise and knew what his answer would be.

"Yeah, I do have something to say," he spoke clearly so everyone watching could hear him. "I may have failed to kill that bastard who calls himself our King, but there will be others to take my place. He will be stopped and his tyranny will come to an end!"

The executioner brutally kicked Ianto in his stomach, sending stars dancing across his vision.

"How dare you speak in such a way about our beloved King!" the official yelled, outraged by the prisoner's proclamation. "Prepare the noose!"

Ianto stayed deadly silent as he felt the circle of rope being slipped around his neck. He tugged once more at the ropes that fastened his hands together, but they were much too tight to simply pull off. Resigned to his inevitable fate, he held his head high and took a fearless step forward onto the trap door in the middle of the platform. He quickly scanned the audience, praying silently that his family had kept their promise to stay at home. For a moment, he caught the eye of a hooded figure that stood in the centre of the crowd, but as soon as he looked away the figure had vanished once more amongst the faces of the villagers.

"Let this be a lesson to all of you," the official cried above the growing gale. "Anyone who stands against our glorious King will meet the same fate as this foolish boy."

Ianto took a deep breath and closed his eyes, knowing what was coming next. He braced himself, waiting for the drop that would hopefully snap his neck and spare him the pain of suffocating to death. But it never came. Instead, there were several screams from somewhere below him and the sound of running through deep puddles.

He dared himself to reopen his eyes, but he could never have possibly guessed at the sight that was waiting for him. The crowd had dispersed and the village centre was now completely empty. The hooded figure that had been watching him in the crowd was standing mere feet away from Ianto. The bodies of the official and the executioner lay across the platform, their heads completely severed from their necks. Pools of thick, red blood were already spreading across the wooden planks, dripping through the cracks onto the ground below.

The figure suddenly threw back his hood, revealing a very handsome face that was besmirched by a long, white scar. It cut down the left side of his face, through his eye rendering it useless and blind, and stopped at the corner of his mouth. Thick matted hair framed his head along with the stubble of a growing beard, giving him a rugged, wild look. His eyes, however, were a startling contrast and shone like two blue jewels as he stared intensely at the younger man.

"How about you and me get out of here?" he asked with a surprisingly soft voice. He gave Ianto a sly smirk before twitching the broad sword that was clutched in his hand. A moment later, the noose and the bonds around Ianto's wrists were in tatters on the platform beside the dead bodies.

Rubbing the sore skin on his arms, Ianto eyed up the strange man suspiciously, taking in his long shabby cloak, the empty scabbard that was attached to his belt, the thick boots that were caked in many layers of mud. He certainly didn't look that trustworthy, but at least he looked a whole lot better than the knights Ianto had seen during this training.

"Who are you?" he asked, tentatively.

"Your guardian angel," replied the man, his smirk widening into a grin that was distorted by his scar. "And I just so happen to be a man who shares your beliefs when it comes to man who calls himself our King."

Ianto's eyes widened ever so slightly, but he quickly hid his shock behind a deadpan expression and a quirk of his eyebrow. He jerked his head with a nod before following the man down the steps and off of the platform. His own boots squelched in the thick mud as he tried to keep up with the longer strides of his saviour.

"Wait! Wait!" he cried, darting suddenly into a nearby doorway. He hoped the man had heard him, but didn't wait to find out.

"Ianto!"

He was immediately tackled by both of his parents. He would have hit the floor had the strange man not appeared in the doorway with a pair of steady hands.

"Oh, Ianto! You're alright!"

"Mother, please! Don't make a fuss!" Ianto all but whined as he tried to stop his mother hassling him while she checked for any injuries.

He reluctantly pulled himself away from his mother and father, and began to gather his meagre possessions together into a small bag. Pulling a thick cloak off of a hook on the wall, he wrapped it tightly around himself to ward off the rain that was still falling in sheets outside. Finally, he strapped a pair of thin, rapier-like swords to his belt and headed back to the door without looking at his family.

"Ianto, where are you going?" his father asked abruptly, glancing warily at the man in the doorway just as Ianto had done.

"Away," was the dismissive reply. "I'm sorry, but I can't stay here anymore. They'll come looking for me. They'll kill me and then they'll kill you."

"You're…leaving?" his mother murmured, tears already forming in her eyes.

Ianto reluctantly turned to the woman who'd taken such good care of him during his life and suddenly found himself close to tears as well. For a moment, he considered staying, but he knew that was no longer an option. Not if it put his parents in danger.

"Yes," he replied, taking her hands in his. "But only because I have to. Not because I want to."

He pulled her into a tight embrace, his heart breaking as he felt her sobbing into his shoulder. Glancing at his father, he gave him a fleeting smile that was instantly returned. Pulling back, he pressed a kiss on his mother's cheek that tasted salty from her tears.

"I love you," he whispered and then ran out of the door before he changed his mind.

Ianto didn't stop running until he was outside of the village and was hidden in the dark shadows of the forest that stretched all the way around the group of buildings. Gasping for breath, he quickly wiped away the stray tears that still remained on his pale face and waited for the strange man to catch up.

"We going then?" a voice suddenly materialised out of the darkness making Ianto jump.

The man appeared from behind a tree with another of his wicked grins.

Growling angrily, Ianto crossed his arms across his chest and asked, "So, what do I call you?"

"Captain Jack or Jack if you'd prefer. What about you?"

"Ianto. Just Ianto."

"Well, Ianto just Ianto, shall we head off?"

Ianto nodded and hoisted his bag just a little bit more securely onto his shoulder. They set off slowly through the closely grown trees, heading away from the town that had been Ianto's home since his birth just over twenty years ago.

"Where are we heading?" he finally dared to ask, glancing up at the face of the intimidating Captain.

Jack merely smiled back at him with a twinkle of mischief in his dark blue eyes.

"We are heading towards the primary meeting place of the New Torchwood Order," was all he said before striding purposefully forward into the oncoming night.

Sorry it's so short, but nevermind. I hope everyone enjoyed it and will keep reading. Reviews are always appreciated. Until next time...

PS. Anyone get the joke and guessed at the true identity of King Harold?