Work Text:
"How come exactly does th' king need tae bring paper while tis this dark oot?" Douglas raised a brow. He held a folder of papers as he walked in the dark as his two guards stood beside him.
"Dinnae ask, auld laddie," said his guard. "He wanted us tae deliver thaim, sae ye hae tae dae it."
Douglas just rolled his eyes as he continued to trudge on the path towards the other kingdom. It was quite far away per se, which was why he was required to walk with two guards. It was highly unlikely an ambush would happen this late at night anyway, Douglas had considered. So far, they were about twenty minutes into the journey. The walk towards the other kingdom was around fifty minutes to an hour and five.
"Stay close tae us, auld laddie. Ye dinnae ken wha cuid be lurking aroond 'ere at this hour," warned his other guard. Douglas gulped, nodding his head. He had never minded the dark, but this time, it felt different.
As if something was creeping up from behind him.
"Douglas McIntosh. Comin' fae th' Northwestern Kingdom." Douglas flashed his ID and badge in front of the guardsman, who was in charge of the gates to the other kingdom. The guard raised a brow.
"Huh, this late at night? What's your reasoning, your highness?" The guard motioned for Douglas to come closer, examining the royal further.
"Delivery fur th' king. Papers, if ye wull," coughed Douglas. He just wanted to get home and get some rest. Getting into a kingdom was hard enough already as it is, he did not need to be bashed even further by the guardsman.
The guardsman, however, was not believing a word he said judging from his expression. "You have a Scottish accent. How can I be sure you're not a poser from the Scottish region?" He eyed Douglas suspiciously. Douglas was starting to get restless. He took a deep breath.
"A' come from the Northwestern Kingdom an' that's that."
"You look and have a Scottish accent."
"Believe me or nae. A'm waantin' tae go back tae my castle at this hour, 'n' ah sure yi'll waant tae as weel. Noo, ye can either let me dae mah delivery noo, or ah cain turn back richt noo 'n' walk one mair hour. Tell yer king that he isnae getting his papers 'cause of ye'."
As soon as Douglas took a step back, ready to make his painfully long journey home, the guardsman stopped him.
"Wait! I'll let you in," he said hastily.
Douglas rolled his eyes as the gates were opened in front of him. He and his guards soon entered the kingdom, heading towards the castle. It was not an easy task, as the kingdom was fairly large. Douglas had to make a few shortcuts and use his perception to locate the castle.
Once he got there, the guards in charge in the front of the building were fortunately smart enough to realise that he was here for business and let him pass through with ease.
"Whit's his issue?" complained Douglas bitterly. "Stoppin' my tracks jus' because he thought a' wis from th' Scottish region? Isnae my ID enough proof fir that guy?!"
"Shhh, auld laddie. Tis late at night. Mibbie he wis a little moody," explained his guard. Douglas gritted his teeth, before continuing on inside the castle.
It had already been a good twenty minutes since Douglas had left for the other kingdom. He had to go through the painfully long process of giving the king the folders of papers and discussing what was inside of them for the king to claim them as his own. Unfortunately, it was taking forever, and by the time Douglas was done, he had a massive migraine.
"Thank god a' can finally go home."
"Aye, auld laddie," his guards agreed.
Douglas sighed. The hard part had already passed them, but the worst part was travelling through the kingdom once more just to find the gates to leave. It was a pain, considering that the gates weren't as big as the castle was, and he had forgotten which way they came from. What didn't help was that some royals from the other kingdom were lurking around in the shadows. They seemed to be the new royals that replaced his kind. Grand Royals, some people dubbed.
It made his blood boil just thinking about it.
But it was best to leave the past in the past.
He would look around the area. The layout was incredibly confusing. Douglas wondered how he even reached the castle at all.
"Ah think we came from that wey?" Douglas tilted his head, walking through a suspicious path that seemed a little familiar. Although, he wasn't sure if they actually had came through that way.
The air seemed to grow thicker the more they walked. It was nerve-wrecking, to say the least. It was getting a little hard to breathe, but then...
Douglas' heart had almost stopped when he heard something coming from the bushes.
"Wha goes thare?" His guards yelled, pointing towards the bush. Douglas quickly backed away, letting his guards handle it. However, the sight he witnessed was not something he expected. It was a royal, dressed in rags. He had likely seen better days.
"Yield!" shouted Douglas. The guards lowered their weapons, as Douglas walked up to the royal who seemed terrified of them.
"...Are you a Fat Controller's royal?"
"Aye, an' proud o' it."
"Thank goodness! I'm Oliver. We were going to head to your kingdom, but we've no more food left!" Oliver whispered. Douglas noticed the servant next to him. He couldn't be no older than sixteen. He then saw two guards, emerging from the darkness. They were most likely Oliver's guards. Surprisingly, a woman also walked out of the bushes. She seemed to be a maid.
Douglas eyed them suspiciously. They seemed to be desperate for refuge.
"Whit're ye' escapin' from?"
"Execution."
Douglas shivered, remembering when he was on the verge of execution as well. But then, an idea flew into his head.
"Ah will be glad tae hulp ye! Bit we maun work fast. It'll hae tae look as if ye'r ready fur execution, 'n' a'm taking ye awa'." advised Douglas. Oliver quickly agreed. With the help of both guards, they quickly got to work. They took off Oliver's crown, wrote out transit labels, and wrote EXECUTE everywhere they could. Once they were done, Douglas grabbed onto Oliver while his guard carried Toad. His other guard carried Isabel in his hands, and Oliver's guards would be posing as Douglas' guards.
"Na time tae waste! We'll run wi' baith o' mah guards! Come on!" exclaimed Douglas.
"Yoohoo! Yoohoo! A royal's escaping! Yoohoo!" yelled a passing royal. Douglas took no notice, and ran firmly on.
But before they could go on any further, they were stopped at the gates once more. This time, it was a different guard.
The guardsman looked at Oliver.
"A Great Western royal," he'd look to the back. "A Great Western servant and a Great Western maid too! You can't take these. They're all for execution soon."
"Kin we noo?" asked Douglas' guard. "They're all fur us. See fur yersel'." He then showed him the labels and papers. There was a long silence as the guardsman looked over the paperwork. Oliver's guards hardly dared to breathe, yet they held their ground firmly.
"Seems in order," said the guardsman grudgingly, "but it's queer."
"Sure, and it is," continued Douglas' guard, "but I can tell you queerer..."
"So could I!" interrupted the guard. "Right away, sir."
Once Douglas, Oliver, and their guards exited the kingdom, Douglas sighed with relief.
"A near thing."
"We've had worse," smiled Oliver. "We ran at night. Friendly guardsmen would pass us from town to town when no royals were about. A knight's chivalry, to be exact," Oliver laughed. "We got on well until the 'king' had been told of a 'mystery royal.' Then, they tried to hunt us down."
Douglas gasped. "What did you do?"
"A guardsman let us hide in an abandoned village. We hid ourselves in the buildings and also hid in rubbish. We stayed there for days, with the royals from the other kingdom prowling around like hounds and growling. I was, needless to say, very frightened."
"Small blame tae ye'," said Douglas feelingly. "We git a lang wey tae go home noo, Oliver. Brace yersel'."
"How long is the journey home?"
"An hour or so."
"Oh my."
"Douggie should've bin back ages ago! Whit happeend tae him!? If 'twas one o' thaim other royals fae th' kingdom, ah will mak' sure ah will f-"
"He'll be fine, Donald. He has his guards to protect him," interrupted Montague.
"Tis mornin', Duck! Mornin'! He departed late at nicht, ye cannae tell me tae calm doon!" Donald paced around the room. Everyone eyed him curiously. They were a little worried about Douglas, but they all felt as if Donald was overreacting.
"Donald, he left at two in the morning. It's only four, of course the journey back will be incredibly long," said Montague as he tried to calm the other down.
"I'll say, Donald," interrupted James, "that he is in good hands. Even so, who would want to ambush some goods royal that only does paperwork? That's just looking for trouble if you ask me."
"Goods royal?! Och, ah'll show ye goods royal, ye steaming pile o' red scrap iron!-"
"We have work to do soon, princesses," boomed Gordon. "And I have a very important job to do. An important royal needs important sleep. Please quiet down, if you will."
"Tsk!"
Montague sighed. "Donald, trust me. He's okay. It takes a long time to travel to the other kingdom, and it also takes a long time to come back. It's only 4 in the morning, he'll probably will be back soon."
"Fine, whatever," spat Donald.
At 05:00, they arrived back at the kingdom. They had to take a little break mid-way, as Oliver and Toad had little energy to keep moving. Isabel was quiet the entire time, and she seemed to still be strong in this traumatising time. Half of the journey was Douglas carrying Oliver on his back and his guards carrying Toad. Oliver's guards were chatting with Douglas' guards, and everything seemed peaceful. Douglas and Oliver sighed once they reached the kingdom.
"We're home, they cannae catch ye' noo."
"Tell Isabel and Toad, please."
Douglas told the news to both of them, who seemed delighted and grateful. Isabel even rang a bell she had in her pocket. He could hear a joyful "Tingalingaling! Tingalingaling!" Douglas was most surprised. Oliver had only chuckled at this.
"That's Isabel for you. She has a bell in her pocket that she rings. She keeps a good lookout for me, and she rings her bell to communicate," explained Oliver. Douglas was most impressed.
"Ye' dinnae sae!"
"Haud yer wheesht," said his guard. "Yon's the castle. We maun slip in unbeknownst an' find a place fir Oliver."
Douglas tried hard to be quiet, but the night guardsman heard them and had to be told their secret.
"I know just the place," he said as he led Oliver, Isabel, and Toad into a hidden area of the castle that was away from the main part of the palace. Douglas decided it would be best for him to stay there for the night.
Oliver said "Goodbye" and "Thank you," and Douglas soon went away to get some rest.
"Yon's an enterprising royal," he thought. "A' ran away 'ere wit' Donald, but a'd been feared tae do it on ma' own."
At last, Douglas arrived back at the castle. Everyone greeted him cheerfully. Donald had practically bombarded him with many questions. Douglas could tell he was worried as his trip should've been a mere two hours maximum.
"Tis' all awright, Donald," he said.
"Ye' had me worried sick!" said the other.
He reached the main room with Donald as he saw all of the other royals there as well, lounging and talking amongst one another. Douglas decided to tell them the news about Oliver and his arrival. They were delighted, but they were also afraid.
"A'm feared," said Donald, "some murderin' royal may creep in, and him there alone, lackin' energy even tae scream fo' help."
"You're right," said James. "He won't be safe until the Fat Controller knows."
"Douglas should tell him at once," said Gordon firmly. "Is it me speak to the Fat Controller? It's forward he'd think me, and maybe interfering." The others agreed.
"Well, here he is!" The door to the main room opened, followed by a cheerful voice. The royals were most surprised. They had thought they had locked the door. "Now, what's this all about?"
Montague broke the awkward silence. "Beg pardon, Sir, but we do need another royal."
"I agree, Duck," said the Fat Controller. "That is why I will be giving our grand royal a second chance." Their faces showed such dismay that the Fat Controller had difficulty with his own!
"Sir," ventured Gordon at last. "We had hoped for a real royal."
"They," said the Fat Controller gravely, "are rare, and unless one escapes, there's little hope..."
The royals eyed each other anxiously. Donald couldn't help but run his mouth.
"But sirr!" he bursted out, "one has!"
"...and thanks to Douglas, is now in our medical care," announced the Fat Controller.
"Sirr," gasped Douglas. "Is there anythin' ye dinnae ken?"
Sir Topham Hatt smiled. "More than you think," he laughed. "Oliver's guards told me all you did, Douglas."
"Och, sirr!" bursted Douglas, "ye' couldnae see a braw wee royal, an' him in trouble, an' no bat an eye!"
"More than 'bat an eye,' I fancy. Douglas, I'm pleased with you. Oliver, Isabel, and Toad will soon be part of our kingdom. They will be a great asset to us. Oliver and Isabel is just what we need for Montague's workload."
Loud cheers greeted this announcement. Everyone was pleased to have more help on the kingdom.
"...and Toad wants to be your servant, Douglas."
Douglas was most surprised. He never predicted that this would happen. At first, he had thought Toad was Oliver's servant...
"Thank you, sirr," he said firmly, "A'd hoped fo' that. He an' a' woul' dae brawly taegether."
That, of course, made everything right.
Douglas would pop in every so often in the infirmary to check in on Oliver. They would chat with each other and discuss things that had been going on in the Northwestern Kingdom, or the Great Western Kingdom.
"A' brough' somethin' fur ye' tae eat," he said as he placed down "Donnie helped me wit' it. I'm no' so good a' cookin'."
"I appreciate anything homemade, sir," Oliver smiled.
"Dinnae call me sirr. Call me Dougie. The Fat Controller is oor 'sirr,'" joked Douglas. Oliver snorted in response as he took the basket. It was still warm, which indicated that something had just been recently put inside.
"Scottish favourite o' mine. Take it wit' grace, wee royal," said Douglas. He took a seat next to Oliver.
"Thank you, I could not be any more grateful to you," said Oliver gratefully. Douglas just shook his head.
"Least a' could dae."
The two sat in a comfortable silence as Oliver ate what he thought was haggis that had been in the basket. Oliver broke the silence with a question after he was done eating.
"You said that you call the 'Fat Controller' sir as opposed to... You know, his majesty?" He questioned.
"Aye. He dinnae like bein' called 'yer' majesty' or 'his majesty.' Naebody ever asked why, sae we didnae. Somethin' havin' tae dae wit' treatin' everyone equally, if ye' ask me," explained Douglas. Oliver nodded understandingly.
"The Great Western never did that. We always had to refer to them as 'his majesty' or 'her majesty.'"
"Makes for a solid change, wee royal."
"Sure does." Oliver nodded. "How's Isabel and Toad?" He questioned.
"The lassie is doin' awright. She's in stable condition an' she seems very grateful tae be wit' us. Aboot this Toad..."
"He's not my servant."
Douglas nodded. The Fat Controller noted that Toad didn't belong to Oliver, but he was still curious on why Oliver even knew him in the first place, or why he had brought him along the gruelling journey.
"If he wasnae yers tae begin wit', why'd ye' bring 'im along? A' ainnae sayin' ye should've left him for dead, but a'm curious..." Douglas trailed off.
"Great Westerns always stick together, Douglas. No matter if we know each other or not. It's the same with you and your brother, right?" Oliver joked.
Douglas felt his mouth run dry, but he wasn't offended at Oliver's words. He just seemed a little bit hesitant to answer. After a long while, he caved in.
"Aye."
"See, that's what I meant."
The two sat in a long, comfortable silence. Oliver looked over on the cabinet next to him, looking as if he was thirsty. Douglas quickly catched on.
"Thirsty?" Douglas broke the silence. "A'll get ye' somethin' tae drink."
"Thank you."
Douglas got up, filling the cup with some water and giving it to Oliver, who thanked him once more.
"Ye' say thank ye' a lo'," noted Douglas.
"It's habit. We always had to be respectful towards everyone no matter who they were. Even the servants acted as if they were higher than us. That's how the Great Western worked," sighed Oliver. Douglas nodded solemnly.
"Thas' how i' worked wit' the Caledonian Kingdom." Douglas got up from his seat. "A' got somethin' tae dae. Ma' wurrk shouldnae be held off for long. A'll see ye' later, wee royal." He said, before exiting the room.
Oliver was left with a notable impression on what Douglas was like.
The Fat Controller soon had Oliver, Isabel, and Toad washed up and cleaned, having the tailors make new clothes for them in Great Western colours. They were most pleased at the new chance of life on the Kingdom of Sodor, and were most grateful to Douglas.
"Thank you for giving me another chance at life."
Douglas had never said "yer' welcome" or anything like it. In fact, he seemed a little awfully quiet whenever Oliver expressed his gratitude. Oliver himself never knew why, but he never questioned it.
Soon, the Fat Controller saved three more "Western" servants from execution. Two were maids named Alice and Mirabel, who currently serve Montague. The third, Dulcie, joined Oliver and Isabel.
Alice and Mirabel were most delighted and grateful to the Fat Controller for saving them. Dulcie was a little more secluded, but she appreciated the fact that she was able to be alive. Although the maids and their royals have their hiccups sometimes, they care about each other nonetheless.
Oliver and Montague are happy at their stationed office that runs across the coast to the Small Kingdom of Sodor. The area hadn't been open for a while, but ever since Montague arrived to the Island of Sodor, it had been opened for him.
"We re-open branches," they boast. They are proud of this indeed.
The others laughed at first and called their Branch "The Little Western". Montague and Oliver were delighted at the name, and now, nobody thinks of calling it anything else.