The Royal Crawley | A Downton Abbey Fanfiction

Chapter One | Promotions and Demotions

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"Let's get another round of drinks!" Allen announced with a smile.
    "Hear, hear," Sidney grinned, slapping his friend on the back.
    The barkeeper, Walter placed more pints of beer in front of the Royal Bodyguards. Over the past few years, the business grew more than he could ever imagine. Before the only people who went to Walter's Bar were members of the lower class. But it was now popular with the staff at Buckingham Palace. Due to this, he redecorated and now racked in a large revenue each night.
    "You might want to slow down," Benjamin advised. "At this rate, these drinks will go to your head, you will fail tomorrow and get demoted."
    Allen glared at him as Benjamin went to a booth in the corner of the bar with his drink. Allen took a large sip and then crossed his arms over his chest.
    "Why did we bring him with us?" Allen groaned. "He puts a dampener on the celebrations."
    "Her Highness told you to invite him," Sidney reminded. "Besides, he's an incredible guard."
    "His demotion would say otherwise."
    Sidney rolled his eyes and gulped down his beer. Allen glanced at his friend with a puzzled look.
    "What?" Allen demanded.
    "Nothing," Sidney shrugged.
    "You won't look at me. What is it?"
    "Fine...but you need to promise me that you won't get upset."
    "I promise. Tell me."
    Sidney set his glass down, took a deep breath then turned to look at Allen.
    "You are an incredible bodyguard. And you deserve to be in charge of Her Highness' protection..." Sidney started.
    "But?" Allen groaned.
    "Benjamin's been at the Palace for more years than you...and he was once the Head Royal Bodyguard to the King."
    "What's your point?"
    "Her Highness never liked Benjamin, and you were always friendlier with her. And we both know that she often thinks with her emotions."
    "So you don't think that I deserve this promotion?"
    "That's not what I'm saying. But, if you were the superior bodyguard, Benjamin would accept his demotion."
    Allen didn't know what to say; he knew that Sidney had a point. Darrel's first request was to sack Benjamin because he got on her nerves. Since she first met him three years ago, she never could stand him. However, King George V wouldn't hear of it but allowed her to put Allen in charge of her protection. Another reason why Darrel liked Allen so much was that he was in a relationship with Darrel's closest friend; her former butler, Thomas Barrow.
    "I'm sorry Allen," Sidney nodded after a few moments of silence. "I didn't mean to insult you. You are fantastic at your job, and I have faith in you."
    Allen forced a weak smile and got up to speak with Benjamin. Despite not appreciating him as a person, Allen recognized that Benjamin was good at his job, and wanted to ensure they could work well together.

    As he turned around he found Thomas walking into the bar. He froze and bit his lip to stop himself from breaking out into a grin.
    "Thomas!" Allen gasped. "What are you doing here?"
    "You told me that there was a celebration tonight for your promotion," Thomas shrugged.
    "You came to London for me?"
    "Of course."
    Allen wanted to jump into Thomas' arms and never let him go again. Luckily, Sidney approached them and extended his arm.
    "Hello," Sidney smiled, shaking Thomas' hand.
    "Good evening, sir," Thomas replied.
    "It's nice to see you."
    "The same to you."
    Over the years Thomas and Sidney became friends during Darrel's visits to Downton. Sidney learnt how to fix clocks, and Thomas picked up a few phrases in Spanish. They weren't close, but it made Allen and Thomas' supposed friendship more believable.
    "Can I get you a drink?" Sidney offered.
    "I can pay for my own," Thomas assured.
    "Her Royal Highness insisted on paying for the celebration. Granted she did not realize how many drinks we would order."
    Thomas laughed, which one would assume was due to Sidney's humour. But he laughed because only Darrel would pay for someone else's celebratory drinks. Especially someone who they employed.
    "I'm surprised Lady Darrel is still as generous as she was as a child," Thomas muttered as he sat down at a table with Allen.
    "As am I," Allen smirked.
    "Their Majesties haven't completely changed her then."
    "They've tried, but she is as stubborn as she is kind."
    The two started to chuckle as Sidney sat down next to Allen with another drink.
    "These are our last drinks," Allen declared.
    "Says who?" Sidney complained.
    "Me. Benjamin has a point...I can't fail on my first day."
    "Fine."
    Sidney rolled his eyes and took a small swig from his glass, in an attempt to savour the beer. Allen looked at Thomas out of the corner of his eye, wishing that he could pull him into another room. Although he knew that Sidney would notice and look for them.
    Meanwhile, Thomas had the same thoughts as the bodyguard. Although he wished that he could whisk Allen away for a few days to spend time with him. He had not seen Allen in almost three months. Despite their frequent letters, he missed their times together.
    "When are you coming to Downton again?" Thomas inquired.
    "In about two weeks," Sidney informed. "The day after Her Highness' birthday."
    "Ah, of course. I can't believe that she'll be eighteen."
    "I can," Allen grinned. "If she wasn't on the verge of adulthood, His Majesty would have said no to her request to have me as the Head Bodyguard."
    Thomas laughed at this comment, while Sidney gave him a knowing look.

    In the end, Allen broke his promise, and the three of them had another drink after their supposed last drinks. They were about to order yet another round of drinks when Sebastian Carlos stumbled in.
    "Walter, good sir!" He cried, leaning against the bar. "How are you this fine evening?"
    Sidney let out a loud groan, "I am too drunk to deal with him."
    "Be quiet," Allen hissed. "Go ask Walter to make Mr Carlos a cup of coffee."
    "Why me?"
    "Because you speak Spanish, and I am now your superior."
    "Fine."
    Sidney finished his beer then walked over to the bar and began to converse with the former Prince of Spain.
    "What's His Highness doing here?" Thomas asked.
    "Well...it's Mr Carlos now," Allen reminded. "And over the past few months, it sunk in that he no longer has a title."
    "It must be hard for him. He abandoned everything so he could be with Lady Darrel. And now he's in a foreign country with nothing to his name."
    "I know. He usually goes to bars at night and comes home without an issue. But whenever a guard happens to find him we need to bring him back to Buckingham Palace."
    "That's nice of you."
    "Yes, but we do it on Her Highness' orders."
    "I see."
    Allen glanced around to make sure everyone else was busy. He slipped his hand underneath the table and grabbed hold of Thomas' hand. He tightened his grip and smiled. Even though it was such a minor display of affection, Thomas's whole body was on fire. All too soon, Allen pulled away and got to his feet.
    "I should go," Allen informed. "I need to help get Mr Carlos home."
    "Yes, go do your duty," Thomas nodded.
    "I'll see you soon. Thank you for coming."
    "It was my pleasure. Congratulations on your promotion."
    Allen was about to express his gratitude for Thomas' role in his promotion. But before he got the chance, Benjamin called him over to the bar.
    "I don't want to go home!" Sebastian announced.
    "You aren't well, sir," Sidney explained. "How about some coffee and rest?"
    "¡Vete!" ((Go away))
    "Por favor, señor. Volvamos al palacio." ((Please sir. Let's go back to the palace))
    "¡No! ¡Déjame solo!" ((No! Leave me alone!))
    Sebastian readied himself to leap over the bar towards the bottles of alcohol. Although as his feet left the floor, he fell to his knees. Part of it was due to his miscalculations and part was due to his intoxication. Benjamin helped him off the floor and kept a firm grip on his arm.
    "Let's return to Buckingham Palace, sir," Allen declared.
    "Fine," Sebastian groaned. "But tomorrow, I drink!"
    "Very good, sir."
    Benjamin steered Sebastian out of the bar, followed by Sidney. Allen apologized to Walter for the inconvenience, gave Thomas a wave then left.

    When the guards returned to Buckingham Palace, they had footmen help Sebastian to his bedroom. Allen headed upstairs to make sure that Darrel was safe for the night. He noticed that the light was still on and he knocked on her door.
    "Come in," came a tired voice.
    Allen entered the room and sunk into a bow. Darrel was in the middle of reading a novel in bed and threw on her dressing gown.
    "Good evening, your highness," Allen greeted.
    "Hello, Allen," Darrel nodded, getting to her feet. "How was the celebration?"
    "Very successful. Thank you for allowing it, ma'am. And for paying for our drinks."
    "It was no problem. You deserve it."
    "Thank you, ma'am."
    "Was that all?"
    "No ma'am...Mr. Carlos showed up at the bar."
    The colour drained from the princess' face. She'd known that Sebastian wasn't in the Palace, but she hoped that he was on a walk and staying out of trouble. Darrel sat down on the edge of her bed, attempting to stay calm.
    "Is he all right?" Darrel inquired.
    "He'll have a headache tomorrow, but apart from that, everything's fine," Allen assured.
    "Thank you for bringing him back."
    "It was no problem, ma'am."
    Allen was about to bring up the reasons behind his promotion. He wanted to know if it was due to merit, his relationship with Thomas, or a combination of the two. Darrel got to her feet and wiped away the tears forming in the corner of her eyes.
    "Are you all right, ma'am?" Allen asked.
    "I'm fine," Darrel replied. "Thank you, that's all for tonight."
    "Good evening, your highness."
    Allen sunk into a bow and backed out of the room. Once alone, Darrel allowed herself to cry. Whenever Sebastian went missing, she was on edge until he returned. Then when he was back she felt a mix of relief as well as anger for making her worry. But she knew that she could never say anything to him since he'd given up everything for her. So, she resorted to crying every evening after knowing that Sebastian was safe in the Palace.