Chapter 4: A Brand New World

If he'd been doubt that their new arrivals came from a time long ago then the constant sound of a whirring behind Ianto's proved him otherwise. His shoulder muscles grew tense as he tried to keep his eyes on the road without making a comment to the blonde male behind him

"Have you seen this Merlin?" Arthur mused, pressing the curious button device to push the window back up into position. "A curious mechanism. I wonder if it would be possible to implement these around the castle."

"Hmmmm….I wonder who'd be the fool having to do that…" The wizard mumbled to himself, the potential of long days of gruelling work hardly inspiring to him. At the glare he received from Arthur he sat up straight and sighed. "Apologies Sir" he stated, rolling his eyes the minute he turned ahead. The word was hardly necessary in private these days but he supposed it had simply become a habit.

"So I'm not the only one with the Sir kink" Jack grinned, making playful pained noises as Ianto jabbed him in the ribs. "Oh come on Ianto. It's not my fault you calling my Sir gets me all kinds of hot and bothered. It's those wonderful welsh vowels of yours"

Ianto's eyes rolled in a manner which he reserved solely for the Captain, a hint of playfulness lingering in the gesture. "Honestly Jack. What must I do to quell your libido. Slip you half a dozen sleeping pills?"

"Oh Yan. Playing the blushing prude now" he teased. "I just need some heating up" he gestured to the gaping hole where the windscreen had once stood. "Thousands of years old and I still can't seem to manage is the cold"

The puzzling comment had Arthur looking carefully at the strange, potentially immortal man. Witchcraft. It had to be witchcraft. The metal of his armour strained as he tensed subconsciously, the king taking up a defensive posture. He gripped tightly to the hilt of his returned sword and drew it close, ready to put the weapon to use should they be attacked upon arrival at the mysterious location they were going to be taken to. At least that had been the plan until the moment the greenery encompassing the vehicle dissipated to reveal the sprawling city scape of Cardiff before them, lights far too bright to be that of candle light.

His companion's eyebrows rose in wonder at the strange city below, it took a lot to surprise the wizard these days but this….even he had begun to wonder what form of magic went into making such a sight. A silver object blasted past, followed in turn by a red and then a black, more transportation in different shapes and styles but a similar format to the carriage they were travelling he decided.

As the ventured further into the urban centre of the city Merlin began to grow uncomfortable, it had become hard enough for him to practice his magic in the forest these days without being at risk of being caught. If they were to be stuck here how would he practice without alerting Arthur to the existence of his magic. But as he caught the strange Captain shoot a warm smile at the man he called Yan, Merlin couldn't help but wonder, his gaze falling upon the oblivious Arthur. It was a new time, new rules…less regulation. Here Arthur wasn't a king, if they were stuck here for good he wouldn't have to follow procedure, he wouldn't be tied to marrying someone 'suitable'. No. A fanciful daydream, even if Arthur could be free why would he want the same live Merlin wanted. Sighing, he forced his gaze back to the window, allowing the slowly flowing waves of the now visible bay to distract him.

"Welcome to Cardiff boys" Jack hollered, burying his concern below his usual bravado. He was well used to the rift swallowing up and spitting out people, but never before had it disrupted the time line of someone so crucial, even if not to their timeline. The idea that the men had been from this earth's past had been eliminated pretty quickly, Torchwood would have records of the worlds most famous magical entity had he truly existed. So just how did they turn up in this worlds Cardiff? And just who would have the power to sever the cross world barriers the Doctor had sworn were sealed up.

"Curious place. Who owns it?" Arthur queried, calculating the power the kingdom must hold due to its sheer size and advanced civilisation alone. Perhaps if he could locate the ruler he could learn how to implement their systems for his own kingdom.

"No-one. Well not exactly. Technically Queen Elizabeth is the monarch of the home nations but the country is run as a parliament now. Her position is simply one of prestige rather than power these days." Ianto explained, pulling the car up a few hundred yard from the water tower.

"No power?!" he asked incredulously. "But how on earth is a monarch supposed to protect their kingdom if they aren't given the power to rally their army. It would be chaos in Camelot if we had to wait for a group to come to a decision. Are they simply expected to march onto the battlefield without an idea of what is going on?"

"Kings & Queens don't do the fighting. Wars and battles are fought by armies. Forces trained for the purpose of defending the nation" The Welshman continued, catching a glimpse of Arthur's bemused face, the blonde staggered by how different this place was to the world he knew. "Come on, I'll answer any more questions inside." He stated as he slipped out of the car, the other three men following his lead.

"Inside? Which building is yours?" Arthur said, glancing back to buildings just set behind him, irritated when he received no answer. He span around to see them approaching a large tower pouring water before shooting a glance at Merlin. "You're quiet for once. That's never a good sign."

"I'm fine. It's just a lot to take in I guess" Merlin lied, shaking his head to clear it of the lingering fragments of fantasy. "Come on. We're getting left behind." The brunette picked up a quick pace to catch up with Ianto and Jack, eyebrows furrowing as they stopped. "You said inside. Inside that?" he asked, pointing to the water tower.

"Oh I love taking newbies down the scenic route. Especially such handsome ones." Jack purred, avoiding a swat from Ianto by hoping away. He gripped an arm of each of Arthur and Merlin, pulling them onto the cloaked square. "Going down" he smirked, winking flirtatiously at Ianto

"Down to where?" Arthur held his sword tight as the lift began to move, eyes widening as they began to descend underground. "My God…"