This fic was inspired by a documentary on the ancient oracle at Delphi.

A Daughter of Delphi

-Delphi District, Caprica City, 35 Years Before The Fall -

When thirteen year old Laura Roslin arrived home from school, she was surprised to find her mother waiting for her in their comfortable kitchen.

'What're you doing home?' she asked rhetorically, heading for the fridge and her afternoon snack. Her mother's voice calling her name stopped her before she could pull out the milk, and she pivoted on one foot. 'What?'

'No food for you,' her mother said firmly. 'You're fasting until tonight.'

'What? Why? Mum, I'm starving!'

Judith Roslin slipped off the stool she'd been perched on. 'We're going to the temple. It's time, Laura,' as the girl opened her mouth to protest. 'Now that you've become a woman –'

'Mu-u-um! Yell it to the neighbourhood, why don't you?' Laura snapped back, her cheeks flushing pink. 'If Sandra hears you –'

'Sandra and Cheryl are at your aunt's,' Judith said. 'This afternoon is about you. Now that you're a woman, it's time for you to make your offering.' She smiled and held out her hand. 'Time to see what lies in store for you, Laura Roslin.'

Laura's mouth formed a perfect O of surprise.

An hour later Laura stood restlessly at her mother's side as they finished making their offerings at the shrine of Apollo. She wriggled; parts of her auburn hair had been twisted into the traditional coronet, and it hurt. The sandals she wore pinched her feet and rubbed the tender places between her toes. Her robe was properly draped and pinned around her slim body, but Laura had the self-consciousness of any young teenager, and she couldn't help the creeping fear that one of the pins would give and she'd be left standing virtually naked in public. If that happened, she was sure she'd die on the spot from shame.

She shifted from one foot to the other and tried to loosen her hair from its tight coils.

'Stop it!' her mother hissed out of the corner of her mouth.

'It hurts!' Laura hissed back. 'Why are we even doing this?' she asked crossly. 'It's all crap anyhow, all these gods and goddesses and deities and oracles. What's she gonna do, read my tea leaves?'

'Don't blaspheme,' Judith said, her tone sharper than usual.

Laura huffed and stood in rigid, offended silence. She heard her mother sigh, but she wasn't going to look up. Nope, No way. She didn't want to be here, and she'd no time for this anyhow, with exams coming up. You'd think her mum would care about that, her being a teacher, but… no, here they were, standing like all the other gullible sheep, waiting to see the so-called Oracle.

I'll never believe in this frakked-up garbage, she thought, enjoying the freedom of being able to swear in her own thoughts. Not now, not ever. And if I have kids – Her mother's touch on her arm roused her from her thoughts, and she looked up to meet the older woman's gaze.

'It's time for you to go in,' Judith said softly.

Laura's eyes widened. 'By myself?'

Judith's touch became firmer, reassuring. 'It's part of the ritual,' she whispered soothingly. 'We all had to do it, honey. I had to. Sandra and Cheryl will too, when their time comes.'

Laura chewed her lip. 'And I've really got to do it?' she asked reluctantly. 'Even though I don't believe?'

Her mother kissed her on the forehead; a ritual kiss. 'You're still a child, daughter. Just because you don't believe now doesn't mean that will remain true all your life. You were christened in this temple. This is just as important; one day, you may be glad ot it.'

'Huh,' Laura scoffed.

'Go on,' her mother urged, sending her on her way towards the curtained alcove with a gentle shove. 'I'll be waiting.'

And Laura Roslin lifted her chin, squared her shoulders, and went to meet her fate.

Laura's natural curiosity overcame her fear as she peered through the gauzy curtains into the darkened room beyond. She tried to look around, but candles flickered around the walls, little wavering spots of light that momentarily blinded her. The air was heavy and close, with a bitter tang that she did not recognise, and her nose wrinkled involuntarily. She took a hesitant, step forward, and was stopped by a voice that wavered and quavered in time to the candles.

'What do you seek?' the voice asked.

Laura blinked; now that her eyes had become accustomed to the dim light, she could see the speaker: a woman, small and slight and veiled. Judging from the voice, Laura thought she must be very old. She licked her lips and swallowed.

'I –I come to know my fate, if it should please the gods,' she stammered, surprised that the ancient words she had learned in childhood should return so easily to her lips.

'Come closer,' the voice commanded, sounding slightly steadier.

Shakily, Laura obeyed, and moved until she was standing within a faint pool of candlelight, and the veiled figure stopped her there with an incisive movement, trailed by a blur of veils.

'What is your name?'

'L-Laura.'

The figure shook, and Laura wondered if she was laughing. 'Are you so ignorant, my child? For this, I must know your full name. I cannot speak your truth without knowing at least that.'

The hint of mockery roused Laura's combative instincts. 'Telling someone your full name gives them something of you,' she countered.

The woman shook once more, but this time she was definitely laughing. Laura could hear her dry cackling. 'Good, good. You are not completely ignorant.'

Laura shifted uneasily within the pool of light as the oracle waited in expectant silence. She hated feeling so exposed. 'It's Roslin,' she snapped at last, once the quiet had become unbearable. 'Laura Roslin. Look, can we just get this over with?'

Again, the cackling. 'Not a believer then, eh?'

'No,' Laura said, her head high.

'So you say. So all the young ones say. Yet some day this will change.' The timbre of the oracle's voice changed; it became lighter and clearer, and Laura shivered, the fine hair on the back of her neck standing on end as the oracle spoke.

'You will see this change, Laura Roslin. Laura; laurel, the garland of victory. You will snatch victory for your people from the jaws of defeat, but it will be a pyhrric victory for you. You who revile the scriptures now will one day embody them. The book of Pythia shall detail your life, and Zeus will stand at your side, and his wooden walls will be your shelter and your salvation.'

Laura stood in stunned silence, her stomach rumbling and churning. The flickering light of the candles had become menacing, the bitter scent in the air, overpowering, and the veiled figure before her seemed transformed into a sinister shadow from her nightmares. Her breath came in uneasy gasps, and the dark places bled and fluctuated, and she blinked, trying to clear her vision. She dug her nails into the palm of her hand with such fierceness that she would later discover blood, but for the moment it served its purpose and she remained upright and aware.

That small … victory … jolted her out of her terror, and she licked her dry lips. 'Are you done?' she asked, proud that voice was steady with just the right amount of impatience.

The woman shuddered. 'Done?' she repeated, her voice sliding eerily between youthful lightness and the cracked tones of age. 'Done? It is never done, Laura Roslin. Go!' One hand jerked out of its nest of veils and pointed towards the curtains, the finger shaking. 'Go! The oracle has spoken.'

Laura blew out a silent breath of relief, and moved to obey, but just as her hand moved to brush aside the curtain, the oracle spoke again. 'Remember, child: this is not all that we are. All this has happened before, all this will happen again.'

Laura did not wait to hear more; she stumbled blindly out through the curtains, ignoring the dry cackling that followed her. Her mother caught her as she went past, grabbing at her arm, and Laura only just managed to avoid throwing her off.

'See?' her mother said as they headed for the exit and the beautiful sunshiny day that lay beyond. 'Nothing to be worried about, was there?'

Laura shivered as they stepped into the sunlight. She would repress the memories of this encounter, bury them deep and lock them up so that she would never think of them again. Phrases flashed through her mind: Pyrrhic victory … Pythia … Zeus… before she shut them off. She took her mother's arm, managed a smile, and tried to speak normally.

'Nothing to be worried about at all, Mother. Now can we go to get something to eat?'

Judith laughed, and Laura relaxed as the pieces of her world slid back into their accustomed places.

-End.

(Am I the only person who's had trouble with FFN timing out lately?) Got this far? Please, please feed the author. Feedback/concrit welcome and wanted!