Title: Changeling, Part Three of Four

Author: Emma

Characters: Canonical Torchwood Three members… sort of.

Rating: Some chapters definitely not safe for work.

Disclaimer: Oh, please. If I owned them, would I let some of those idiots write the scripts? And if I were making any money off them, would I be where they could find me?

Summary: A young girl’s mysterious history could bring disaster to Cardiff and Torchwood Three…

Author’s Note: Gwynn ap Nudd is the King of the Tylwyth Teg, the fairy folk of Wales. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwyn_ap_Nudd. Kymry as a name for Wales is found in a poem dated to 633, but I decided to appropriate it for the Tylwyth Teg. And "elf-shot" is a fairy weapon; that should tell you something about Gwen's godmama!

            Gwen dropped her keys on the ceramic bowl Rhys had put on the kitchen counter as a last-ditch effort to stop her from losing them. She was tired and hungry, but mostly she was scared. Her mam-gu had told her stories of mad Queen Mab and the things she did to mortals who displeased her; and she remembered once, when she was very little, her godmother storming into their kitchen, looking like she was about to start slinging elf-shot in every direction, screaming about Mab’s bloody intransigence. If Jack was right, the Mad Queen was coming for her granddaughter with the Unseelie Host at her back. What King Gwynn would have to say about this invasion of his kingdom was not something she wanted to consider just at that moment.

            She opened the fridge and pulled out the casserole Rhys had left for her. She hated these trips he had to take every other week. She wanted him here, with her, so she could cuddle with him on the sofa with her head over his heart, and listen to its steady beating. Rhys was solid, real, and whenever he was around she felt stronger. On the other hand, she was glad he was away from all this. If it came to war, the old borders would be closed. Rhys would be safe in Carlisle.

            The ring of the doorbell caught her by surprise. Her parents were visiting relations in Llangoed, and Rhys’s friends knew he was away. She cradled the casserole in one arm and went to open the door.

            “Tosh? Is anything wrong?”

            “No. I just… You’re having dinner. I shouldn’t have…”

            “No, come in. Join me if you haven’t eaten yet. Rhys always makes enough for six. Throw your coat over there.”

            She popped the casserole in the microwave and set the time as per Rhys’s careful instructions. Then she opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of wine. She poured each a glass.

            “It’ll be ready in fifteen minutes,” she told Tosh. “In the meantime, tell me what’s worrying you.”

            Tosh was quiet for a moment.

            “Can I help with that?” she asked as Gwen started to set the table.

            “No. Come on, Tosh. Ask.”

            “It’s about Jack and Ianto. After what happened on the Plas, I did a little research. Don’t smirk at me like that, it’s my way of dealing with anxiety!” She giggled and suddenly they were both laughing, a release of tension as much as humor. “I understand the mechanics of a geis, but that… what happened… seems to go beyond that.  They used to be happy, Gwen. Now it’s as if they can’t stand being apart, but at the same time they’re so tense it’s painful to watch.”

            “I know.” She sipped her wine. “What Jack did is very old magic. It has to do with the nature of a geis. You see, most geis don’t take motive into consideration. In technical words, it’s an if-then statement. If you do a, then x will happen.  Once it’s in motion, it can’t be stopped. What Jack did was to use Caledfwlch to rewrite the statement and become Ianto’s geis holder. Since Ianto had acted under his instructions, he was safe.”

            “But that’s good, isn’t it? Or it should be.”

            “Not really. The geis Ianto was under was very strong. The only way Jack could tamper with it was to use Wales’s most powerful magical object to bind Ianto to himself as a vassal, since in magical terms only a vassal can be ordered to break a vow. In essence, Jack now owns Ianto.”

            “Gwen!”

            “It’s more complicated than that, truly. There are mutual responsibilities. Have you noticed how Jack looks for Ianto at times? Ianto’s become Jack’s anchor, his link to the real world. Jack is the brake on and the guarantee for Ianto’s behavior. But the bottom line is that Jack controls Ianto. Literally. Ianto cannot say no to Jack.” Tosh’s stricken face made it clear that she had grasped the implications. “How can either one of them be happy about that?”

            The microwave timer went off. She took the casserole out of the oven and put it on the table. “Bring the wine. I think it’s time you and I got really and truly pissed. If one bottle doesn’t do it, I’ve got more. Shit. Napkins.”

            She headed to the kitchen only to be pushed back by a gust of wind that smelled like lilacs after a spring rain. Tosh was half out of her chair, looking around a little wildly.

            ‘It’s fine, Tosh. It’s safe.” She took a candy dish filled with chocolate-covered almonds from the counter and offered it to the empty air. “Welcome to my home.”

            The young man had the ethereal beauty and the mischievous eyes of his kind, but there was seriousness in him that she had never seen in any Tylwyth Teg before. He wore forest green from head to toe, and the jeweled badge on his left shoulder identified him as a herald messenger of King Gwynn’s court.

            “I thank you for your kindness, but I cannot tarry. His Majesty has begun the gathering of the Host.”

            “Gwen?” Tosh whispered uncertainly. “Tell me there’s someone there.”

            Gwen realized with a start that Tosh could not see the messenger. “Yes, there is. I’m sorry,” she said to the faerie, “my friend has no magic, so she cannot see you. It is not disrespect.”

            The Tylwyth Teg’s eyes studied Tosh carefully. “She has magic. It was inhibited when she was a child. Her father did not think it suitable. I judge that she would be most unhappy to know that. But… “He reached out and touched Tosh’s forehead. “There.”

            Tosh’s half-scream at the – to her – sudden appearance of a handsome young man in forest green was almost comical. Controlling her impulse to laugh, Gwen made a shrugging gesture at her friend.

            “The Tylwyth Teg gifts you with elf-sight. They’re impulsive, sometimes.” She addressed the messenger. “You have news?”

            “I bring a message to the Swordbearer. King Gwynn ap Nudd bids him tell Queen Mab to take her child and go home. There is no place for the Unseelie Court in Kymry.”         

            “She will be told. But whether she will listen is another matter.”

            “Then let him tell her to look to her own throne, from within and without.” He tilted his head as if listening. “My Lord sends a message to yours. His counselor is in danger.”

            “His counselor?”

            “The woman who cares for children. Tell him to hurry!”

            Gwen didn’t bother with the customary departure courtesies. She dove for her purse and fished out her cell phone.

            “Jack? Estelle is in trouble. Right now… Yes, I’ll explain later.”

            She put down her phone to find Tosh talking to Owen. In a few seconds, she too put her phone away.

            “Gwen, what the Tylwyth Teg said sounded like war!” Tosh was shaking slightly. “There hasn’t been a war between the fair kingdoms in four hundred years and the last time it happened it was followed by two hundred years of disastrous weather. Whole countries collapsed!”

            “The Little Ice Age. I know, Tosh, I know. And Tosh… that was an intra-clan dynastic struggle somewhere in Northern Poland. This would be full out war between two of the most powerful fair kingdoms in the world.” She sat down with a thump. “I’m not very hungry anymore.”

            “Neither am I.”

            “Tosh… if I lend you a pair of pajamas and make up the sofa, would you stay overnight? I don’t think I want to be alone tonight"

           "Where can I put my laptop? I think we're going to have to do a lot more research. And Gwen? Bring that wine."