Author's Note: A couple of years back, when I first started writing (waaaaay before I started SHARING), I came up with this idea about why the Athosians didn't go into the old city on Athos. I decided to try this version of that idea in an entirely different style than I'm used to writing; so review me and tell me if it's good, i it's not; so I know whether or not to write anything else like this. Thank you!
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It Is Forbidden
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This is my fathest hunt yet.
My father and I have been hunting all day, tracking an animal that is faster and quicker than either of us have ever seen before. It has taken us far away from the camp; much farther than we intended. Soon we must either turn back or make our own camp for the night.
There is a break in the trees up ahead, and hoping to see the creature that we hunt, my father and I head for it, praying that it will choose to cross the open ground. But I do not see any creatures. Instead, through the trees, I see a glint of something that does not belong in a forest--- something metal?--- that can mean only one thing.
The old city.
There have always been tales of the old city; so many stories and legends of ghosts and wraith spies, lying in wait for someone to come through so that they may be devoured. But it has been so long since anyone has come here that those stories have become nothing more than that; stories, used to frighten children around the fire at night. Certainly there can be no harm from an empty city made of metal and stone.
I say so to my father, and he laughs at me, telling me that at thirteen I should have more respect for my Adi. But then he grows serious, and among the buildings, he sees the creature that we have been following for so long. He tells me to stay here while he kills the creature; it is dangerous to try in such close quarters as the city streets. But he does not wait for me to answer, which means that I have made no promises. I know that he will be busy for a while, stalking the creature through the streets; so why should I not explore a bit?
Entering the city is both exciting and frightening; even if I do not believe the tales, I have not forgotten them; and the first few steps take courage. But after the first tense moments, I realize that there is nothing to hurt me, and I head for the biggest building that I see, that I am certain is a palace.
Inside is wide and high-ceilinged, with smooth walls hung with paintings that must have once been very bright. The floors are mostly stone, but there are chambers on either side where the floors are covered with thick, soft carpets.
I follow a hallway that slopes gently upward; hoping that there will be a window or a balcony that I may look out from, to see the city from above. But what I find first is more chambers; living quarters.
Each is decorated in a particular color; there is a red one, a yellow one, a blue one, and so on and so on. My favorite is the blue; and the windows are covered in curtains of an incredible shade. I am going to take one; I will make something out of it; and even if I couldn't I want to take a piece of this strange new place with me. Sometimes it is good to be reminded of what my people once had and deserve still, even if I burn with jealousy that we cannot have it now. It gives me hope that we may one day have such wondrous things again.
The room after the blue one is even more lovely; it has been done entirely in white and gold. I am almost afraid to step on the carpets for fear that I will ruin them. But the prints from my muddy boots do not stain it; they merely sit for a moment before fading away. I wonder who lived here, that they were wealthy enough to have something so fine as that. Whoever created it must have been even more so.
This room does have a balcony; and the view is spectacular. I can see the whole city, and for miles around it. My father is still stalking the creature through the silent streets, but I can imagine what it would be like to stand here in the days where the city was in full glory and splendor, to try to watch him walk through the crowds that surely must have filled these cold streets...
Oh no! I feel something, something dark and terrible deep within me. I have only ever felt it three times before on Athos; every other culling that I have seen has been off-world--- though there have been many. But the wraith have come today; and I now regret my foolish words to my father. Perhaps there is something to the tales of danger, after all.
I run as fast as I can to get out of this palace and find my father, the sound of wraith darts already screaming in my ears. I can feel them, everywhere. I cannot see the darts, but I know that there are wraith close; and I would like nothing more than to curl up and cover my ears and wait for them to go away. But I have to keep going; I need to find my father so that we can hide. Maybe if we return to the palace, we will be safe inside.
The feeling today is like nothing that I have ever experienced before; far worse than any other culling. The pain is so bad that it makes me sick, and I feel as if any moment I will vomit out what little I do have in my stomach, or faint from the terrible headache that accompanies this feeling.
I force the sickness down, reminded once again that I must find my Adi, my father. I remember where I saw him from the palace...
I'm caught! One of the wraith on the ground has found me, and he won't let me go. I have never been so close to one before; it is terrifying. And even with all that my father has taught me about fighting, I cannot make it let go of me. I know that I am going to die. Adi, I'm so sorry...
"Teyla!"
Suddenly, the wraith falls over, dead. I look up to see my father, his bow still in position and the string still quivering. He runs over to me and releases me from the dead creatures cold hands. He is not angry with me; there is no time for that now. Right now he is simply glad that I am safe. But the both of us know that "safe" is such an empty word. And we also know that we cannot stay in the city now. He lifts me to my feet, and I take his hand as we run for the shelter of the trees.
The darts that I heard? I can see them now. Three of them, coming for us. My father sees them too, and we strain to run faster, to escape this evil that chases us. We are so close, and in a moment we will be in the thickest of trees, where even their beams cannot get us.
"Teyla, go!" My father's hand slips out of mine, and he pushes me forward hard into the relative safety of the trees, telling me to stay safe and that he loves me. I turn around only just in time to see him swept up the the culling beam of the wraith dart, mere steps from safety. No! I want to do so much; anything to get him back and destroy the wraith who have tried to take him for me. I run out from under the protective canopy, but the wraith now pay me no mind; the darts obviously do not think that one little girl too small for her age is worth the trouble. They take my father and are gone.
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It has been nearly a week since the culling. We lost thirty-two people, including my father. Only yesterday were we able to make a final count, and we completed the ceremony to honor the taken.
Now that my father is gone, my people will expect me to lead, despite my youth. And I will do what they wish of me; I will make my Adi proud. And I will ensure that no matter what, no one ever returns to that city, the place where Tagan Emmagan was taken. Never again will we risk the wrath of the ancestors by returning to that place. I swear that I will protect my people from my father's fate.
I hear Charin and Halling calling me; I am needed. It is time for the next ceremony to be performed; the one that will seal my place as a leader. I will not let them down.
Fin.
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A/N: "Adi" is my Athosian word for "Father" or "Daddy". In no way do I pretend that I got this from the canon of the show (it is mine;) ).
This is one of my ideas of what happened to Teyla when she was young, concerning her family and her leadership. I will probably write something similar into other fics at some point...