(The Quest: Part 1)
Teal'c told her once that we only dislike that in others that which we dislike in ourselves. She found that rather sound piece of counsel easier to ignore when Teal'c's bass wasn't sounding its truth to her, but now she couldn't help but agree with him.
Adria was manipulative, with no respect for life or free will, and after a decade of witnessing life wrenched from her grasp and granted to Qetesh, there was nothing in this galaxy she prized more than choice.
There was a moment in her past when two courses laid before Vala Mal Doran, and she had picked a life much different than the hatred that fueled Adria. Self-pity and rage could only carry you so far, and they were never good colors for Vala.
Adria had invaded Vala's mind when they were trapped on that ship with her above Dakara. Back when Adria thought that her mother could be coerced into Origin. She played on Vala's fear of being trapped, and tried to drive her into one tighter than Adria could ever see.
Adria told Vala that she wasn't free. She told herself that every morning she rose and chose to be at the SGC. That she was there because she'd changed, she wanted to do something better for her life and the galaxy, but that was a lie. She belonged to a new master now, one who would cage her, keep her hidden under a mountain while the Ori wanted her honored among the stars.
Vala was lashed to him, just as she'd been to Qetesh. She wanted to rupture the event horizon and never be held again, but something bound her to that place. So long as Daniel Jackson was there she would never breath independence again.
It was a lie. Vala knew it for what it was, manipulation worthy of her mother 's younger years. It was her choice to rise there every morning, and bed down every night. Her choice to change her life and be something more than the agony the Ori used her to create.
It was a terror Vala dealt with; that she would be tamed, be domesticated, and lose that fire she loved most about herself. But that stopped being her fear a long time ago. This was her path, and this is where she wanted to be.
This was home, and she made her own fate.