18

Jack sat against the cold stone of the prison cell and listened to Ianto cry. He wished he could slide to his side and hold him in his arms, but the prison blocked all magic, which meant none of their powers worked here.

Ianto had looked like he was in shock as the guards shoved them out the door and down the hall. Over and over he had said, "It really was me, Jack."

Slowly his tears seemed to slow and Jack hoped he'd cried himself to sleep. His next words, though, told him that he probably wouldn't get sleep at all tonight. "No wonder my father believed I'd tried to kill him. I had my dagger pulled. My words...I said...I'd come to..."

He didn't finish whatever he was going to say. Falling into fresh sobs once more instead.

Jack felt so helpless. So sure he'd thought of everything, he hadn't even considered what would happen if Ianto wasn't even able to complete what he'd gone back to do. Instead, he'd confirmed the King's belief that he had come to assassinate him.

Now Jack had to wonder if they had never sent him back, would things have changed?

By sending Ianto back, had they set into motion everything that had gone wrong ever since? It was enough to make one's head ache. His heart broke with every painful sob that came from the cell. He wanted nothing more than to ease his suffering, but again, he felt powerless to do anything.

One thing he knew, they couldn't stay here and wait for their execution.

Damn it!

He was a Royal Hunter. He'd vowed to give his life to protect him, and he was going to find a way to get them out of here if it was the last thing he did.

Of course, if he were being truly honest, it wasn't only his responsibility to the royal family that made him want to give his all for him. He knew the truth. Maybe he'd always known the truth.

He felt something deep for Ianto. In his soul, he knew that that was the reason the King had sent Jack after him. From the beginning, the King had noticed that something about Ianto had drawn Jack in. And once they met, there was clearly a strong connection. In the old tradition, the people would say they were soul mates, but that implied they never had a choice. He would always give Ianto a choice, and he would always support his dreams, whether they were to travel through time or to find and remove cursed objects before someone got hurt. He wanted to give him the life he deserved, and in order to do that, he needed to get them out of this prison.

They needed to get their hands on that book once more and do the spell right this time. He rose from the floor and began to pace. He just needed to think things out.

"What do you know about this prison, Ianto?" Ianto didn't answer immediately, so he pressed him. "Ianto, I know you're devastated Tiger but right now we need to work on getting out of here and finding a way to save your father."

"Why even try?"

"Because it's the honourable thing to do."

"What will it change? I mean, I tried to fix the first mistake, and it was a disaster. It's me. I don't think I can do it right."

"Don't say that. You can do this. I believe in you."

"I'm still such a disappointment to my father. He died believing that I tried to kill him." Ianto dissolved into tears again.

Jack stopped pacing and leaned his forehead against the wall between them. He wished he could pull Ianto out of this depression, but all he could do was support him. "I'm so sorry, Ianto. I wish it had gone differently."

"Oh, boo-hoo!" Janet the familiar yelled across the cell at Ianto, and he stopped crying for a few seconds. "You failed! So what? So what if you didn't get it right the first time? Do you think that's the end of trying? Failure isn't the end. It's the point where you eliminate an option. That's all it is. Now, quit your pity party and figure out how Jackson and you are going to get us out of here."

Jack pounded the wall with the bottom of his fist. "Don't talk to him that way, you putrid little prick! Ianto, don't listen to him."

"No, he's right. I am spending too much time feeling sorry for myself. I...I can't just give up, but I'm scared. What if I try again and it's just as disastrous? What if I go back and I learn...I was the assassin? What if I kill my father?"

"Just details, kid. You can 'what if ' yourself until you're blue in the face. It won't change what is meant to happen."

"Dammit, Janet! Just keep your yap shut."

"I just want to run and never stop running." Ianto sighed.

Janet rattled the chain circling his paw. "And how has that strategy worked out for you, Prince?"

If Jack had been in the cell, he might actually have considered tossing the damn cat out the barred window. Even as Jack knew the cat spoke truth, he wasn't sure that Ianto was ready to hear what he was saying to him.

Ianto was silent for too long for his peace of mind. Jack called out to him, "Ianto! Are you okay? Talk to me."

"He's right, Jack. I can't run from this. I have to try to make it right whatever it takes."

Jack sagged against the wall. Relief filled him. He was going to be okay. Now he just needed to figure out how to get them out of here. As he glanced around the cell, trying to look for any weaknesses, he heard a loud scraping sound in the hallway outside of their cells.

He crossed the cell and tried to look outside the small square rectangular window with thick, solid bars, but very little outside of it was visible. He mostly saw gray, stone walls.

He couldn't see what was making the noise, but once the scraping stopped, he heard two light footfalls. Then a tiny voice said, "You look just like him."

He heard Ianto ask, "Like who?"

"Mother. You look like our mother."

He heard Ianto's sharp intake of breath. "Wait! You're Hadden, my brother."

"And you're my biiiiiig brother, Ianto. I've been waiting so long to meet you."

"How do you know about me?"

"Before I came here, Mother told me all about you, and I couldn't wait to see you. She told me that people would try to tell us that we couldn't be together, but that the truth is better than that." He lowered his voice to a whisper, but Jack could still make out his words "Whoever tried to keep us apart didn't want us together because we're stronger together."

"But the prophecy said we would battle each other. I don't want to fight you. I hope you don't want to fight me."

The cutest sound of laughter rolled out of the little boy before he said, "I can't fight. I'm too little. Besides, you got it wrong. Mother said that we would battle together!"

Jack ran the prophecy through his head. Maybe the little guy was right. He remembered the words spoken said that when Ianto and Hadden were in the kingdom together they would battle. It didn't specify who the battle would be against.

"You're right, kid!" Jack wanted to try to get Hadden to let them out. If he could just convince him to bring the keys to Jack, they could escape and get the book back. There was still a chance. "Do you think you could help your brother?"

"Mother said I should help my brother. She said I would know how when I saw him."

"I know how you can help. If you can bring us the keys, so we can get out of here… that would definitely help your brother."

Jack heard a slight commotion and suddenly the kid came into view. He had messy light-brown hair and the same stormy eyes as Ianto. There was no doubt that they shared genetics. "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers. Who are you?"

"I'm Jackson Harkness. I was a friend of your father's. Now, we're not strangers." Jack tried to smile in a friendly way. "So you think you could get the keys?"

Hadden smiled back at him. "I can get them, but then you have to help Ianto hide. He's in danger."

He was back to whispering. Jack nodded, hoping the kid could see the motion through the barred window. "I promise that I will protect him always."

"Okay."

In a blink, the kid placed his hand on the lock, and Jack heard the door click open. As the kid walked to Ianto's cell and did the same thing, Jack swung the door wide and asked, "No one is supposed to use magic down here. How did you do that, Hadden?"

"It's easy. Mother showed me how to get past the magic wards. She's very smart."

Ianto stepped out of his cell. "Is Mother still here?"

The boy looked at the floor and shook his head. She felt his sadness. "She's trapped. I can't get her out. I keep trying, but she didn't show me how to do that."

"I'm so sorry. You've been all alone." Ianto wrapped his arms around his little brother and squeezed gently.

"It's okay because she said that when I found you, you'd know how to get her back."

"Oh." Ianto's gaze met Jack's, and he saw the uncertainty there. "Well, I'm afraid..."

"We must wait until tomorrow. It's a special day when everything will be perfect to bring back Father and Mother. Mother said you can only do it tomorrow. She told me over and over that the time would come. That it would be the night of the new moon the day after I found you. And, now I found you. So, it will be tomorrow."

"Okay. Goddess, I hope you're right." Ianto sighed heavily. "Tomorrow it is then."