21

Ianto could hear the click of heels on the hard floor.

More than anything, he wanted to open the door and see the killer, but he was afraid he might see his own image staring back at him. His hand rested on the knob this time, but still he waited. A pair of boots followed the click of the first intruder. There were two of them. Now, Ianto was thoroughly curious. He never worked with a partner.

"Now that Hadden is back, Ifan has out served his purpose. We no longer need him alive. You are sure that the Prince was in his room tonight?"

Ianto recognized the voice, but he couldn't quite place who it was.

"Yes! He entered through the balcony and left the same way."

He knew Captain Narcus's voice immediately.

"Good. It will be easy to put the blame on her for his father's death. He's played right into my hands, as have all of the royal family."

"And what if the Queen finds a way to return?"

"She won't. Not as long as I'm alive."

It was the High Priestess!

Ianto knew the voice now. And Hadden had been right. Their mother was alive, and she'd been trapped by the High Priestess. She had fooled them all.

"Now, kill him quickly. I want the writ of accusation of the Prince in front of the Protectorate by tomorrow. His execution will ensure that I can take power through Hadden, and right all the wrongs that have been done to me."

Ianto burst out of the closet, dagger in hand, and Jack followed right behind him. The High Priestess and the Captain turned to face them.

"You? You are the one who put all of this in motion? How could you?"

"How could I? Do you know what has been done to me? From a young age, I was taken from my family and put into service as a nun. As if that wasn't damaging enough, I worked my way into leadership positions, only to be passed over time after time as other, less qualified priestesses took the position of High Priestess. That's when I decided I would pave my own way into the position the only way I knew how. I murdered the High Priestess with my own hands and bribed the investigator with sex. When I was finally given the position I'd wanted, I asked myself, why stop there?" She was becoming more animated with each word she spoke. Jack stepped closer to Ianto's back, reassuring him that he was there with him.

He whispered so that only Ianto could hear, "I knew I scented the tainted, sour smell of murderers."

"Why stop there when I could rule the entire kingdom? I just had to make it happen the same way I had before. So, I convinced the King that you'd be better able to defend yourself and the kingdom if you were turned into the best assassin in the land. Then, I made up that ridiculous prophecy, which everyone believed. Your parents tried so hard not to have another child. I almost thought that part of the plan would never come through, but I knew true love would win out." She spat on the ground with that thought. "As if that were worth anything. As soon as your mother found out she was pregnant, of course, she came to me. I told her that I could help her. I would help her take the baby to another realm. If the siblings were never in the same realm, all would be well. Again, she bought every bit of my lie."

She had become so animated that King Ifan awoke, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "What is the meaning of this?"

He looked around the room, at the multiple people standing at the foot of the bed. "Ianto? Jackson? What is going on here?"

"Oh, your majesty, Ianto has returned to kill you, but the Captain and I were here to thwart them."

"Father! She's lying. They came here to kill you tonight. I came to stop them. It's why I came to you five years ago. I was there to warn you, but something went wrong."

"You can't possibly believe him, King Ifan. You told Captain Narcus what he said to you that night. he said he'd come to kill you. He is an assassin, through and through, and now he's pulled poor Jackson into his deception."

"No! It's all a trick! She has Mother trapped and is trying to take the throne, so she can rule through Hadden. She has orchestrated this whole mess, and it has to end."

"Really? Are you really going to believe the word of the man who came to your room to kill you? He will tell you anything he thinks you want to hear."

Jack stepped in front of Ianto. "Enough! Sire, Ianto is the one who speaks the truth. The priestess and the Captain are working together, and even if they don't accomplish your murder tonight, you'll have to watch your back for the rest of your life while these two are around."

"Can't you see, he's lying for him." The High Priestess was beginning to shriek her words. Captain Narcus seemed to be inching closer to the door.

Jack gestured to himself with his hand as he said, "My king, you know me. I don't lie, especially not to those about whom I care. You have made all I am possible, and I would never betray your trust. Ianto is here for one reason and one reason only—to stop these two from murdering you."

At that moment, Captain Narcus ran out the door and Jack pulled his sword and chased after him. Ianto crouched low and held his dagger ready as he watched the High Priestess. "I think that shows clear guilt if anything ever did. What do you think, Priestess?"

"I think neither one of you is leaving here alive, so what does it matter if the truth comes out?" She pulled her own forearm-sized dagger from a hidden scabbard in the folds of her robe. "Yes, you pompous arse, I had planned to kill you and blame your son for it. I don't know how he managed to find his way in here, but I'll make sure to stage your deaths as a murder suicide."

With an animalistic growl, the priestess raised her dagger and swung it at Ianto. Watching for an opening, Ianto backed up and eyed the priestess's style of fighting. Assess first, act based on knowledge. It was what he'd been trained to do as an assassin, but he also knew that every fighter had a weakness if it could be found and exploited.

As Ianto moved backward, he shifted and began to turn around the room, attempting to control the only exit from the bedroom. His father rose from the bed and stood next to it, pulling the thin sword from the scabbard still attached to the pants he must have removed before going to sleep.

Ianto was a little concerned that he might get an eyeful of his dad's tighty-whiteys, or worse, see him buck-arsed naked, but he remained focused on the priestess, trying to ready himself for the attack that was imminent.

Ianto heard the swordfight going on in the hallway behind him.

he hoped Jack was winning, but he couldn't take his eyes from the priestess to check. With a screeching war cry, the priestess ran toward Ianto suddenly and Ianto ducked at the last minute, smoothly spinning under the priestess's arm. As she passed, he sliced his dagger precisely where it could do some damage. As he got to his feet once more, he looked up to see the priestess staring at the blood welling through the sleeve of her robe. A half-moon cut created with a well-timed flick of Ianto's wrist, perfected with years of practice.

Now Ianto's father raised his sword, and the priestess had two fronts to watch. As the two closed in, the priestess swung wildly and the Captain and Jack fought right outside the door. For just a moment, Ianto saw his father take his eyes off the priestess and turn his attention to the swordfight in the hallway. "Father! Watch out!"

The High Priestess took advantage and knocked the sword from his father's hands, pointing her dagger at him until she could wrap her other arm around his neck, using him as a hostage. "You see, Ianto, I wasn't born with all the advantages you were, but I used what I had been given—my wits—and now, I'm going to get everything I ever wanted."

Ianto watched in slow motion as the priestess raised her dagger, seeming to pause to maximize the pain Ianto was feeling yet ready to slam the weapon home in his father's heart. All that Ianto had done to get here would be for nothing once more.

"No! Father! I don't want to lose you again!" Yet, as he ran for him, knowing he'd never get there in time, watching the dagger start to fall, he felt the pull of time, jerking him away at the most vital moment.

When he and Jack were back in the closet once more, Ianto dissolved into uncontrollable sobs as Jack held him tightly in his arms.