Royal Matchmaker
Chapter Two
Four thousand parsecs away from First Moon Cardiff, in an enormous and slightly foreboding castle at the end of the Boeshane Peninsula on Cibron Four, a rather nervous-looking man with a thin face adjusted his tie and tugged on his waistcoat as he approached an imposing figure standing there looking off down the driveway.
"Ah, Owen, I assume we have news on the whereabouts of the prince?" the older man asked.
"Yes, sir, I've just had word that he's on his way from the spaceport right now."
"And what's the excuse for the delay this time?" The grey-haired man got a very disapproving look on his face. "And don't try blaming it on the paparazzi again!"
Before Owen could respond the sound of a powerful Hover engine could be heard approaching in the crisply quiet day. "Ah, here he is now, sir." The relief in Owen's voice was palpable.
The bright red Hover came to a sharp halt in front of the two men and Owen rushed forward to open the door.
"Sorry I'm late, Father," a handsome man with dark hair and a cleft in his chin emerged from the Hover. "The shuttle was…"
"Delayed, yes, I heard." It was clear the older man didn't believe the excuse for a moment.
"Yes, and to make matters worse, the Hover wouldn't start. Luckily it was just a loose battery cable." The prince frowned. "I probably should have checked that out before I decided to jet off to the Gran Prix."
"Another adventure you can regale me with in the Hover on the drive over," the king grimaced.
"Yes, about that, Father. Is it really necessary for me to attend the…?" the prince floundered for a moment, having no idea where he was supposed to be going with his father.
Owen stepped up to the prince's shoulder and quietly filled in the blank. "The Royal Parade…"
"Yep," the prince nodded vigorously, "the Royal Parade?"
"At the National Cathedral," Owen finished.
The prince rolled his eyes although Owen couldn't see him. "Is it really mandatory for the entire royal family to…" His voice trailed off as he saw his father's eyebrows slowly rise into his hairline. "Well, yeah, of course it is!" he hurried agreed. He'd learned a long, long time ago that disappearing eyebrows did not bode well for his future endeavours. He clapped his hands together. "Well then, let's get this show on the road, shall we?"
"Aren't you going to change into your uniform?" The king's tone was just a bit frosty now.
"My uni… uniform…?" The prince looked from his father's exasperated face to Owen's nodding head. "I guess… yes, well… I'll just be a few moments then," and he hurried off.
The king sighed deeply and looked at Owen. "Please go make sure he washes his hands."
Hiding a smile, Owen bowed slightly; the king had been telling him that for nearly twenty years. "Yes, of course, sir," and he quickly followed the prince.
Dressed in soft, well-worn sleep pants and an old T-shirt, Ianto entered his bedroom, crawled carefully across his bed and set a mug of steaming coffee down on the bedside table, making sure to use the coaster with the red Welsh dragon on it. Tucking his feet beneath the duvet, he adjusted his pillows and opened the book he'd been working on. It was a reproduction of a compilation of ancient novels by Jane Austen, an old England author his mam had introduced him to when he was very young.
"Now, where did we leave off?" he wondered as his fingers found the bookmark and he opened to the proper page. He was very excited to be starting a new story in the book.
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." This was the first sentence of Pride and Prejudice and Ianto remembered his mam telling him that even after a millennium, it still stood as one of the most famous first lines in literature.
"Jack, I have requested your presence as I believe the time has come for us to have a little chat." The king put down the papers he'd been perusing as his son entered the study.
"Why do I get the feeling that it's a tad more serious?" Jack's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
The king rose from his desk and handed his son a magazine, the 'Boeshanian', on the front cover of which was a picture of Jack above the screaming headline, 'Where in the World is Prince Jack? Anywhere but Home!'
"The Prime Minister brought this to my attention."
Jack took the proffered magazine and frowned at the rather unflattering photo. "It's nothing to worry about if this is all they can dig up on me," he snorted derisively.
"Well, it's more meaningful than you think," the king disagreed. "You are very rarely in your homeland."
"So, I like to travel! Since when did that become a crime?" Jack tossed the offending magazine onto the nearby table.
"That's not the point, Jack. You have a duty to your country…"
"I understand, father," Jack quickly interrupted, hearing yet another lecture about his future coming. "Oh, you know me," he cajoled with a smile meant to be endearing, "pomp and circumstance has never been my cup of tea."
The king squared his shoulders and raised his chin just a bit. "We are royalty. It is your cup of tea. You're the next king, for Gods' sake! People look to you for hope, for inspiration, for stability." He began to pace in front of book shelves heavily laden with precious antique books printed on actual paper, a treasure only a king could afford.
"But they have you for that!"
"I am the past," the king explained. "You are the future. It's time to show your subjects a new maturity has emerged from their prince." He deliberately ignored his son's look of scepticism. "Now, the Jubilee Ball which commemorates my thirty years on the throne is a month away."
"Well, I think I can sit tightly around the palace until then," Jack conceded reluctantly, the look on his face reminding his father of the little boy who didn't want to come inside after playing out in the gardens all day.
"I mean more than that." The older man shook his head, the decision already made in his mind. "I think it's time to introduce to the world the woman of noble blood who will one day be your queen," and he smiled.
The look of disbelief on Jack's face was almost comical. "I beg your pardon?"
"Pardon denied." The king took a deep breath. "It's not as if it's the first time I've brought up the subject of marriage."
"Well, no, I realise that!" Jack was beginning to feel a bit desperate; there was a note of steely determination he'd never heard in his father's voice when they'd talked in the past about his getting married. "It's just… I mean…" he searched his brain for an excuse. "I'm just not ready to settle down yet!"
"So you keep saying." The king pursed his lips as he tried to remain calm. "I'm tired of your excuses and delays." He walked back over to his desk and sat down. "You need to put your follies aside and make your country proud. You can trust me, you know; I only have your best interests at heart."
"I guess I'll just have to take your word for that," Jack said sullenly, pouting like a five-year-old child being told he couldn't have any sweets before dinner. He looked at his father, hoping to see a softening in the older man's resolve, trying to think of some way around things, but when he saw the king's single raised eyebrow, he knew the discussion was over. Really over. He turned and walked slowly from the room.
The king rolled his eyes at his son's departing back, well accustomed to his behaviour. 'He'll see this is all for the best.'
The hot sun of Cibron Four beat down on the Hover parked by the side of the castle as Jack tried to start its engine, only to be met by the sound of failure yet again.
Owen wandered over and stood by the rolling worktable covered with tools, clasping his hands behind his back. "Doesn't sound good."
"No, well, the starter's the least of my problems." Jack clambered out of the Hover.
"I was talking about the slamming of tools I heard earlier," Owen grinned infuriatingly.
"Oh that," Jack sorted through the tools on the table. "Yes, well… Father's being completely unreasonable."
"If I may, sir, I believe he just wants what every father wants for his child," Owen shrugged. "For him to be happy."
"I'm already happy!" Jack looked up from the Hover's engine. "It's just not the sort of happy the king wants me to be."
"Perhaps," Owen knew what the king had on his mind and he stepped a bit closer to the Hover, "for His Majesty's sake, you could keep an open mind on the subject."
Lifting out a sparkplug, Jack blew on it forcefully and then held it up, peering at it closely. "Oh, come on, Owen, you've witnessed my dating acumen!" He leaned back into the Hover's engine, replacing the part.
"Yes…" Owen nodded as he pictured more than a dozen of the prince's latest attempts at dating parade through his mind.
"The women I go out with are only interested in my title and everything that goes with it." Jack was getting angry; it was an unfortunate but true fact of his life that he'd become aware of when he was sixteen and had gone on his first date. Not at all interested in them getting to know one another that evening, all the girl could talk about was what she would do and do with his money if she became his queen.
"Perhaps," Owen repeated. "But that only means you haven't met the right one yet."
"I suppose you might be right, but quite frankly, Owen," Jack tossed the tool back onto the table and got into the Hover, "I don't know where to start nor do I have the desire to learn where to look." With a push of the start button, the Hover roared to life, bringing a bright smile to Jack's face as he revved the engine. He looked up at Owen, expecting a return smile but instead he encountered the look of long-suffering his valet wore whenever the subject under discussion wasn't yet closed. With a deep sigh, Jack killed the engine.
"What is it, Owen?"
Owen glanced at him, opened his mouth as if to speak and then closed it again, looking away at something in the gardens.
"Come on, Owen," Jack frowned. "We've been together for too many years for you to start holding back on your thoughts."
"Well, sir," he began, "on this occasion, I felt compelled to intervene on your behalf."
Toshiko moved about Ianto's office, setting his schedule down next to his computer, making sure everything was ready for his imminent arrival. Her mobile rang unexpectedly and hoping it wasn't Ianto saying he was going to be delayed, she answered.
"Jones Matchmaking, Toshiko speaking."
Owen squinted at his own computer screen. "Is this Miss Sato?"
"Yes, it is. How can I help you?"
"My name is Owen Harper, I'm in service to a very highly placed personage. I just spoke personally to a former client of yours and you come very highly recommended."
Tosh smiled, knowing what was coming and she mentally reviewed Ianto's schedule for the next six months, looking for an opening.
"I'm looking at your website now and I wish to inquire about your matchmaking services for a potential client abroad. Do you work outside of Cardiff?"
"We certainly do, Mr Harper," she confirmed with a smile.
"Well, we are certainly in need of your assistance." Owen sighed. "May I give you the details and perhaps we can discuss our options?"
"Of course," Tosh grabbed a tablet and stylus. "Fire away."
"A professional matchmaking service?" The king perused Ianto's website. "From New Moon Cardiff, no less?" He sniffed, sounding quite dubious as he looked at picture after picture of happy couples all smiling warmly at one another; he was sure they were too good to be true and wondered how many of them had been professionally posed.
"I can assure you, Your Majesty, that I have thoroughly vetted Mr Jones and his associate," Owen hastened to reassure the king. "He spent almost a decade at a larger firm before going out on his own and his references are impeccable." He scrolled down to show the king Ianto's 'Success Stories in Numbers' section, where it proclaimed, '74 Couples, 39 Marriages and 19 Engagements and counting'. "His record is quite staggering."
The king raised an eloquent eyebrow. "Yes, I see. But do you really think we need to resort to…" he waved at the screen in an imperious, almost disdainful manner, "this?"
"Yes," Owen nodded emphatically. "I believe the prince needs all the help he can get."
Curious to learn more, the king leaned forward and began to study the website more closely.
"Umm… Ianto?" Tosh entered his office and set her laptop down on the desk in front of him. "If we play our cards right, I think I may have just found us our next big client."
"We have lots of big clients."
"True, but this one is big, like in really big."
Intrigued, Ianto sat back. "Okay, let's see what you've got."
She opened the laptop and a man's face appeared. "Ianto, may I present to you His Royal Majesty, King Franklin of Boeshane."
Ianto smiled hesitantly. "Is this real?" he whispered out of the side of his mouth.
"Oh, yeah, it's the real deal," she confirmed in a matching whisper as she bent to write something down.
Quickly composing himself, Ianto smiled warmly at the screen. "Hello, King Franklin, what an absolute pleasure."
"His Royal Majesty would like our help in finding a suitable match for his son, Prince Jack."
"The Prince Jack?" again with the side whisper to which Tosh nodded. "Well, that is a thrilling prospect, but I'm a little confused. Normally we speak to a client directly…" He noticed that Tosh was holding something up and he glanced at it before adding, "Your Majesty."
"I understand," the king cleared his throat. "However, I wanted to speak to you first, as I am quite committed to finding my son true love and happiness."
"Well, you're in luck, because that's the only way we do business," Ianto smiled brightly. Again, Tosh waved her little sign. "Your Majesty."
"Well, that's very reassuring, especially considering the tight time frame upon us." King Franklin nodded with approval; clearly, he had just made up his mind about using Ianto's services.
Ianto frowned at the screen and then glanced at Toshiko.
"Yes, the king needs us to find a match for Prince Jack in time for the Royal Jubilee Celebration," Tosh quickly filled in the details, "which is in four weeks."
"Four we…" Ianto stared at her and gave a nervous giggle. "From now?!" His tone was incredulous. "Your Majesty, I am incredibly honoured at the prospect of finding your son a mate, but love doesn't really work on any timeline."
"Then you'll have to accelerate the process. I'm not interested in promises, only results." King Franklin was quite adamant. He didn't notice Owen's frown of concern. "If you can make wedding bells ring for my son then I'll have no problem telling the entire quadrant that it was your firm who found his happily-ever-after."
Quite nonplussed, Ianto glanced at Toshiko for a second, as if seeking reassurance. Turning back to the computer screen, he said, "Please, just one moment?" and he muted the connection before rising from his chair in a state of minor panic. "Four weeks?" he hissed, feeling a sudden tightness in his chest.
"Yes, four weeks," Tosh nodded encouragingly. "But if anyone can do it you can and opportunities like this don't come along very often and this would be huge for us!" She spoke very fast, as though she was trying to convince herself as well as Ianto.
"But what if I fail and the whole thing goes bottoms up and nobody will ever hire me again!" The normally unflappable Ianto Jones was envisioning his entire business crashing down around his ears and he knew his hands were waving about.
"You never fail! I mean, you can't fail!" Tosh was beginning to panic as well.
"Four weeks!" Ianto hissed again.
"Ianto, please?" Tosh implored. "Like… he's a real king."
Ianto looked like he was in pain as he straightened his tie and tugged at his waistcoat before sitting back down. "Okay," he agreed before unmuting the laptop. "Your Majesty, I don't know how else to say it, but we'd be delighted to come aboard."
"Excellent." King Franklin gave a very satisfied smile as he looked at Owen, who smiled back, both happy and relieved that his idea was going to plan.