27

Ianto had not wanted to remain in the realm of his kin for too long. It felt foreign to him now… a strange concept to feel like a stranger in your own place of birth but it was true. Ianto was not the same person that left this place almost a year ago.

As they entered their home Ianto felt a sense of relief, like being soused with water on a scalding hot day… as it was out there in the land of Boeshane. "Thank the gods… home."

"I hear you… I am shattered" Jack agreed as he walked in and then took a knee, his arms wide as children burst from the side doors screaming. The nanny quietly carried the little one whose face shone with delight, little hands reaching to Ianto for comfort.

It was later, once the kids were sure they were not leaving them and had finally gone to bed that Jack asked Ianto "Pip?"

"They did not kill her… Da would not do that to one of his chicks no matter how badly they deserved it. No. I was told a story by my Nanny once, one of a mad king that was imprisoned for the term of his natural life in catacombs beneath the city. It was opulent down there and the guards that tended him treated him with honor and respect. But he could never leave. He had overthrown his father and been discovered after the fact, already had the crown so … it was a warning. Behave of get locked in the catacombs." Ianto said softly as he lay on the bed to let his mate stroke the bump lovingly "I remember…. I went searching. As is my childish intelligence, I wanted proof that she was not blowing smoke up my arse. The other kids believed her but… well… I never believed anything if it was not proven to me."

Jack laughed softly, "I bet you were a quiet child that wraithed like a boss and when you spoke, they jumped."

"Hmmmmm"

"So… did you find anything?" Jack promoted after a while.

"Yes. Dusty. Old but intact. It was pretty in a way. The artworks, furniture. Opulent. I guessed some of it had been taken from the upper levels, things he had loved and asked for… it was decked out like a royal suite. He had lived in luxury. No windows, only the one door that was a huge metal thing that had a lock I could easily pick…" Ianto stopped and snorted softly with mirth "Or so I thought. Now I know it was simply not locked in the first place."

"And there will be guards there at all times too, as is the general rule of thumb with a prisoner" Jack agreed with a grin.

"Pip will not get visitors, not get news… books. Food. That's it. Maybe a pet like a cat or dog … but that's it. She is gone. She might as well be dead, it will be a sad existence for her now." Ianto lay there in the bed a little longer then sighed "They will rotate the guards every few weeks so she does not have time to get attached to one, learn their ways and manipulate them. It also means none will become friends. She is truly in a foreign land under her own family palace."

"But she will never get out" Jack emphasized, feeling the dread in Ianto through the bond.

"No… no… it's not that. I fear the life she has now. To be forgotten and alone. Why I ran into this one… I saw myself slipping deeper and deeper into the shadows. This was my choice."

"And she made hers Tiger" Jack patted the bump then moved up to kiss him "Remember that when you feel remorse and sorrow. She chose her path, as you did yours. You chose the right one… she faltered."

"Yes Cariad"

Nothing else to say really, both men settling to slumber as the realm followed suit and the day grew weary, the moon travelling her familiar path across the sky before her bother chased her away again to beam with triumph.

And so I leave this segment here. The next to be the birth of the babe and the next chapter in their lives. And whatever chaos I think up.

Thanks for reading.