A/N: This is completely AU and unbeta'd, so any and all mistakes are mine.
Disclaimer: I own nothing from Torchwood or Doctor Who.
Ianto was a little ashamed to admit he was excited to see the carriage the Harkness's owned. He had never been in a carriage before, so his damp spirits lifted a bit when Mr. Harkness approached their ride. Ianto had no idea a massive chunk of metal could instill as much awe in him as it did. It was the most beautiful, black carriage he had ever laid eyes on, with two doors leading to the inside instead of one. The head of the couch held the reins of two brilliant stallions, one white, and the other white with creamy brown spots. Both of their manes rippled in the sunlight, and little Ianto was mystified by their beauty.
Mr. Harkness, however, quickly put an end to Ianto's day-dreaming by snapping his fingers at him. "Hurry up! Stick your bags in their boy."
Ianto jumped to attention and hurriedly opened up the carriage, shoving his pathetic, raggedy bag onto the floor by one of the benches on the inside. He remembered his place just in time, and stood back to hold the door open for the Harkness family. Ianto could tell Mrs. Harkness was pleased, and she actually smiled at him.
"He's already learning, Franklin! John was right, he really will make a lovely servant," she cooed at Ianto, who felt slightly mocked, but, wisely, kept his little mouth shut. Mrs. Harkness fanned herself as she sat down, her son taking a seat next to her. Mr. Harkness climbed in after and nodded his head at Ianto, giving him permission to enter. Ianto obediently mounted the steps and climbed into the carriage, sitting on the bench directly opposite of the Harknesses. He felt awkward, sitting there like that in front of them. Compared to them, his hygiene wasn't... well... the best. He was rather filthy and tried his hardest not to squirm in embarrassment. He decided, eventually, to try to distract himself by inspecting the inside of the carriage.
It was almost just as nice as the outside. From where Ianto was sitting, he could see the little window the head coach would talk to his passengers through. Ianto desperately wished they would open it so he could see the horses again. They looked so different to him so close up. He knew it would be rude, though, to try and ask for a favor; even if they did just take him from his home, he was a servant now, and had to act accordingly. Ianto was sure servants weren't so different from people who work as waiters and waitresses. He remembered when Alwyn told him about the time he spoke out of line.
"I just asked if she could take her screaming baby out of the pub, and she slapped me right across the face. Told me she would never come back again, the pompous tosser. Who brings a baby to a pub anyways?" Alwyn had grumbled to a six-year-old Ianto as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "And that's why, Ianto, you never ask favors of higher officials. Unless it's Mam or Tad. And even then tread carefully." And Ianto had nodded sagely at his brother, very thankful Alwyn had shared his wisdom with him.
Ianto decided he really didn't feel like being yelled at by the any of the Harkness family; they had a look about them that made Ianto very afraid of getting a tongue lashing from them.
Mr. Harkness shifted as he sat, reading a newspaper he had picked up. Ianto peered closely at his new master, his curiosity shifting quickly from the carriage to his new family. Mr. Harkness was a middle aged man, who had broad shoulder that made him appear very manly. For a man in his thirties, he seemed old to Ianto, with wrinkles around his eyes and the corners of his mouth. At the moment, his brows were furrowed, and he consistently sniffed as he read. An orange gem was resting against his throat, gleaming in the sunlight. Ianto felt he didn't look as threatening as he did before.
Ianto imagined he wasn't as cold in reality as he was in the pub. That in itself confused Ianto. Mr. Harkness has seemed reluctant to tell Ianto pack his things. That didn't make any sense. Why would he ask for their youngest son if he hated taking Ianto away from his family? Ianto shook his head. Grown-ups were too confusing.
Movement at the corner of the carriage caught Ianto's attention, and to be completely honest with himself, Ianto wasn't all surprised to see the Harkness son watching him. Ianto thought it was a tad bit creepy. He had no idea what the other boy wanted from him.
The boy's eyes got a little bigger as his eyes met Ianto's for the third time that evening. Instead of turning away like he had before, Ianto cocked his head to the side and stared back, his face unreadable. Ianto took this time to assess the Harkness son in the same fashion as he had done to his father.
It seemed the boy had a mix of his parents. He had the gorgeous blue eyes of his mother, but the nose and cheeks of his father. The one thing that seemed different to Ianto from either of his parents was his dark brown hair. Both of his parents were rather light haired compared to his. His complexion was soft like his mothers, and he still had the cheeks of a child, as Ianto was sure he did too. The expression fitting his eight-year-old face, however, made him look far older then he actually was.
Suddenly, the son smiled a knowing smile, before twisting around in his seat. He glanced once back at Ianto once, the grin still on his lips, before opening the window to the head coach. Ianto sucked in a little breath as the boy turned back to smile brightly at him.
"The horses are lovely, aren't they?" he said it to no one, but his eyes focused on Ianto as he declared it. His mother nodded, patting his arm gently with a placating hand absent mindedly, while the son, in turn, paid no mind to what she was doing either.
Ianto shivered slightly under the son's gaze, before turning to look out the window. He just wanted to be home, away from this family and the searching eyes of the Harkness's only child.
Ianto's internal clock told him around thirty minutes had passed before the carriage finally came to a stop outside of a looming castle.
'Not just any castle,' Ianto thought, his tiny mouth falling open slightly as it clicked for him. His little brain couldn't believe his eyes. Hundreds of thoughts and question flew through his mind. The actual castle! Where the king stayed! Who were these people!? How did they connect to the king? '
'Alwyn was so right... there's going be so much adventuring and... and... Only if Rhi and Mam were-' Ianto quickly shook his head and shut the feelings away. Now was not the time to breakdown.
Pushing his raging, conflicting feelings of awe, anger, and grief behind an emotionless mask, he exited the carriage to open door gently, holding it open for the Harknesses. Mrs. Harkness was as pleased with Ianto as before, and nodded at him with approval. Ianto quickly grabbed his bag and chased after the retreating backs of the Harknesses, gaping at the huge stone fortress the whole time.
Ianto let out a tiny gasp as he entered the building. The inside was even better! It was huge! There were huge tapestries hanging from the walls, and a red carpet lead to a door underneath a balcony that had two sets of steps leading down from it, one from the left, and one from the right. To Ianto's direct right was a long hall with a door at the end, and on the other side was another huge staircase that leads to where Ianto guessed was upstairs.
Mr. Harkness suddenly stopped and Ianto barely avoided colliding with his back. Mr. Harkness turned to look down at Ianto for a few moments, before putting a hand on his shoulder and beginning to guide him down the hallway to the right.
"This way Ianto. I have some people to introduce you to in the kitchen crew," he said crisply, leading an obedient Ianto into the door at the end of the hall. Mrs. Harkness and her son went the other way, climbing up the stairs and disappearing from sight.
Ianto dragged his bag through the door, already panting. He was furious with himself. This was why he could never work with Alwyn and Tad. Why did he have to be so weak! His face slowly reddened from excursion and embarrassment as he struggled with his bag. If Mr. Harkness took note of his predicament, he didn't show it as he continued down the halls at the same pace as before. Ianto didn't know whether to feel relieved of terribly embarrassed by Mr. Harkness's silence.
There were a few more twists and turns. Ianto tried to remember, make a mental map or something, but there was just too much to absorb and he had more important things to worry about, like trying not to throw a faint not even a day into his new life.
The ending of the twisting passage was sudden and very unexpected. The plain looking door at the end of one of the halls lead into a huge dining room, and Ianto gasped. He wondered faintly if everything in this castle was oversized. The table could easily fit several people. Above the table was a huge chandelier, it's little gem's throwing tear drops of rainbow colors across the room. It was beautiful.
There was so much for Ianto to take in and absorb. He wanted to commit every single detail to his memory. As usual, however, Mr. Harkness had other plans. Ianto stiffened when Mr. Harkness turned him towards a swinging door. Ianto could hear a lot of hustle and bustle going on inside, and was a little wary. It sounded ten times louder than the kitchen at home, and little Ianto was childishly afraid.
It didn't help at all when a blur burst forth through the door, thoroughly startling Ianto. The red blur smacked right into Mr. Harkness's chest, bouncing of the man and onto the floor with a soft thunk. Ianto blinked at the perpetrator.
On the floor sat a small girl, her fiery red hair cascading down to her shoulder blades. She blinked up at Mr. Harkness with large brown eyes, her lips parted in shock. She scrambled away and smacked right into a woman who looked furious. The woman's hair was a shockingly red as the girls, and her dark eyes were smoldering in her face; she looked extremely angry. Ianto mentally added the woman to the list of people he did not want to upset in this castle.
"Amelia Pond, for the last time, I told you, you cannot- Mr. Harkness!" she exclaimed as if she had just noticed he was there. She tucked the loose strands of hair back behind her ear and straightened her flour crusted apron out. "Mr. Harkness, what can I do for you, sir?" she asked, shoving the girl, Amelia, behind her and giving him a tight smile. Mr. Harkness raised an eyebrow, before shoving Ianto in front of him. Taken by surprise, Ianto gasped, skidding and almost pitching forward from the firm push on his shoulders. The woman looked down at him, slightly puzzled. Amelia peeked out from around the woman's back and stared at Ianto in awe. He could only squirm and stare bashfully at his feet as the two ladies stared at him.
Mr. Harkness smiled slightly. "This is Ianto Jones. He will start helping around the kitchen from now on, and you are to raise him as your own... Is that alright, Ms. Noble?" Donna stared down at the smallish boy, her lips parted slightly. Behind her, Amelia's eyes became as round as saucers. Ianto didn't notice the two attitudes of the ladies, for he kept his head bowed. Donna felt her heart ache for yet another lost child as she took in the appearance of the child, Ianto, and knew that she'd take care of this cutie whether they asked her to or not.
Before she could reply properly, however, Amelia couldn't keep her surprise and confusion to herself anymore and blurted out, "But he's a boy! Cleaning the kitchen is a woman's job!" Ianto felt his ears turn red. Ms. Noble looked mortified and pinched one of her ears.
"Don't be so rude! Men and women are equal here in this Realm. Don't you dare write off people's jobs like that!" Speaking to Mr. Harkness, she said, "She's always such a hot head, just look at her hair." she laughed nervously at Mr. Harkness. He, to Ianto's unending surprise, only gave a good-natured laugh.
"It's alright. She has a point. It is a womanly job." At that, Ianto noticed the dangerous flare in Ms. Noble's eyes, but Mr. Harkness blundered on, completely oblivious. "But Ianto here is too weak to do much more than that, so please, bear with him," Mr. Harkness said patiently to the girl. Ianto felt the red flush creep up down his neck and across his face. He was consistently being belittled and ignored, and in the face of these strangers, it was all the more embarrassing. Donna chuckled tersely along with him, shoving Amy's head behind her back for the fourth time in as many minutes. She crossed her arms as if to put up an invisible barrier between herself and Mr. Harkness.
"Right, of course, we'll treat him like family, here, you have nothing to worry about," she aimed her statement at a still very crimson Ianto, her dark eyes softening slightly in a motherly way. Ianto felt soothed; her eyes and her tone reminded him a lot of my mother, and that in turn reminded him about the break down lingering behind his adult like mask. Ianto really wanted to prove he was a man, and crying in public was not going to help his case.
Once again, Mr. Harkness shoved Ianto forward and Donna grabbed his shoulder to steady him, shooting a glare at Mr. Harkness.
He ignored it. "Okay, Ms. Noble, I trust you. I know you'll mold him into a fine man," his eyes lingered on Ianto for a moment, before he turned back and swiftly exited the dining room. Ianto violently when Mrs. Noble immediately exploded at Amelia.
"Good Lord Amy! This is the seventh time I've caught you snitching off the young master's plates! You're lucky I was the one who caught you and not one of the lords or counselors," she fumed, her hair flying around her face like a red halo. Amy looked at her stubbornly, her little arms crossed and her lips pressed firmly together.
"It isn't fair, Miss Donna, it isn't at all fair," she pouted, her brown eyes alive with fury. "All the young master does is sit around on his fat arse and demand stuff. He's a huge baby!" she said, and Donna pulled on her ear harshly.
"Oi! Language, young lady!"
Amy completely ignored the rebuke. The only sign that told Ianto she had notice the scolding at all was the way Amy scowled and rubbed her ear. "All we get is bread and some scraps of fat if we're lucky," she complained. "He gets all kinds of goods, puddings and turkey and ham, even chocolate! I've had chocolate only once, and that's when I snitched it."
Ianto watched Miss Donna deflate like balloon and shake her head, sighing. "Don't be this way Amy. I convinced them to let you stay here if I could raise you properly, so don't repay me or them by acting out of line. With your track record now, you would've been thrown out ages ago... You're lucky the king respects my opinions." she said curtly, before ending the conversation by turning and finally looking Ianto in the eye.
"Ah! Ianto was it? Such a lovely name for such a handsome boy. Oh you'll be a heart breaker one of these days," she cooed, flutter around him a bit, scoping him out.
Ianto flushed a little darker and dipped his head. "Thank you, Ms. Noble."
Donna waved her hand in the air, brushing away the formalities. "Oi, none of that, your family now! Donna will do just fine, sweetheart, it's that one that needs to learn her manners," she said with find exasperation, throwing her thumb over her shoulder towards Amy. Amy squawked indignantly and Donna chuckled fondly. Ianto cracked a small smile. Donna's grin grew as Ianto seemed to relax slightly; no eight-year-old should look so tense. She took one look at his bag and quickly got back to business.
"Right! Your baggage! Come on then, this way," she said with a smile, before herding Amy into the kitchens, not checking to see if Ianto followed. He quickly ducked in after them, glancing around as he went. The kitchen was alive; stoves were burning and ovens were full of food. The chefs ran to and fro, looking a bit frenzied. Ianto almost got lost in all of the hustle. He was suddenly very thankful Amy and Miss Donna had such bright red hair.
Donna pushed her way through waiters and waitresses, moving all the way to a door in the back. It opened into a whole new wing of the castle. They walked down a hallway a bit, before turning down another hallway to the right.
She turned her head back briefly and said, to Ianto, "This part of the servant rooms are for maids and other servants." She came to a stop in front of a room.
"Ah, here we are... Amy and I share this room with another girl, whom I'm sure you'll meet later. You'll stay with us if that's alright; there really isn't any more room in the men's wing," she lied; she had a feeling Owen and the others would pick on Ianto because of his apparent weakness. She felt bad for the boy who was out of breath just from that short walk with his bag.
Ianto didn't notice any sort of lie, but he did see Amy wrinkle her nose at Miss Donna's rooming arrangements. Ianto wondered if she didn't want him here. If she did, she didn't say anything.
Ianto hesitantly walked inside the room and set his bag down next to one of the beds. That apparently, was what finally shot Amy off.
"That's my bed," she snapped, and Ianto blinked, before beginning to quietly move his bag to another one of the three beds, but she quickly said, "And that's Miss Donna's and the other one is Toshiko's. You will have to sleep on the floor." She crossed her little arms stubbornly, and Ianto flushed again, unsure what to do with himself. Scandalized, Donna descended on her in fury.
"Amelia Pond! How rude! You and Toshiko will have no problems sharing a bed, seeing as you two already cuddle for warmth so often. Ianto will get your bed, and don't you dare say a word against me sweet cheeks, you're already testing me today with your attitude," she warned fiercely as Amy's mouth opened as if she was going to argue. "You should really learn to be more nice to people, Amy," she said sharply.
Donna put her hands on her hips, knowing this next part would be like hell to get through the girl's head. "Now apologize to him." Amy's eyes opened wide and she looked at Miss Donna in despair. Amy was obviously begging Miss Donna to let her go; Ianto could tell she had a lot of pride for someone so young. Donna just looked at her firmly, jaw set.
Amy was beyond livid, and obviously hurt by Miss Donna's outburst. Her little lips were pressed into a thin white line as she struggle to hold frustrated tears. Ianto was uncomfortable, and squirmed under Amy's angry gaze. If looks could kill...
"Erm... It's 'Kay, Miss Donna, I don't really mind," Ianto mutter, shuffling his feet awkwardly. Donna shook her head and stood her ground, her eyes never leaving Amy.
"It most certainly is not okay, Mr. Jones, and it'll do you good to remember from now on I'll tell you what's okay and what's not," she said sharply. Ianto mouth, which was open to insist it was alright, shut with a snap, and he pressed his lips together obediently.
Amy gritted her teeth when she realized she had no other choice but to apologize to the new kid. Ianto wished she didn't have to; this was definitely not going to help their relationship.
Amy's no stiles flared. Then there it was, a tiny mutter, almost a soft hiss. Ianto was content with the animalistic apology, but Miss Donna was not amused. She cleared her throat, clearly annoyed. Amy's eyes darkened. She set her jaw, and with much gusto snapped, "I'm sorry! Alright there I said it! I'm sorry!" She snorted and turned away.
Donna sighed and shook her head; she knew she wasn't getting anything more out of Amy. She watched her adoptive daughter leave in a huff and Ianto continued to feel increasingly awkward standing there like that.
Donna suddenly turned to him and sighed. "Sorry... Go ahead and unpack and get some sleep. Busy day for you tomorrow." She smiled tiredly at him, before leaving. Ianto paused for a moment, before getting busy on what she requested.
He couldn't help but wonder how he was supposed to survive living here.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed. I appreciate any and all feedback.
