Rodney was bored. All this talk of agriculture and trade was so dull that it could put him to sleep. He and his team sat with Lord Aram around a small oaken table in a private room next to Aram's quarters. Rodney propped his head on one hand and sighed, not really trying to pay attention to Aram's ramblings. His eyes wandered all over the room and finally settled on a window that faced the main courtyard.

The sun was just beginning to set, casting pinkish-gold light all over the sky and making the grass of the courtyard turn a lovely shade of deep green. A weeping willow tree stood quietly in the very center of the courtyard, the hanging leaves slowly dancing in the breeze. There was a figure—a woman—standing near the tree; she had been moving so slowly that Rodney had not noticed her at first. He recognized her as the young woman—Aram's daughter— he had met earlier in the afternoon, but he couldn't remember her name; it was Korkina or something like that. She looked kind of pretty without all the dirt and grime. She wore a white shirt with no sleeves and loose brown pants that ended in the middle of her calves. Her feet were bare.

She moved slowly into several different postures; Rodney guessed it was some form of martial arts like Tai-chi. Every movement was controlled and full of power, and every posture had a certain air of beauty to it.

Her face seemed calm and gentle, but there was a slight furrow in her brow. Rodney wondered what she could be hiding behind that façade of serenity. He remembered Aram mentioning something about a tournament tomorrow—a tournament to find a suitor for her or something. A marriage to someone she didn't really know would certainly put a damper on things.

"McKay!"

Rodney almost jumped out of his seat. "What?" he asked quickly.

"I asked you what you thought of the agreement." Sheppard gave him a critical look. "But, obviously, you weren't paying attention...again."

"No matter," Lord Aram said. "I was just about to let you retire for the night. If it is all right, we will continue negotiations after the tournament tomorrow."

"Thank you, Lord Aram." Teyla stood and bowed her head slightly. The rest of the team followed suit. They left the room in single-file with Teyla in the front and Ronon in the rear. When they were out of ear-shot, Ronon whispered to Rodney in his rough baritone voice, "I wasn't paying attention either."

XXxxXxX

Lord Aram watched with a careful eye as Sheppard's team disappeared around a bend in the corridor. He stood at the head of the table with his hands gently folded behind his back. After a moment, he turned to the window behind him and gazed over the city. The largest building in Athalia was the Arena. It stood proudly in the center of the city, its two stories almost looming over the little shops in the marketplace nearby. Aram thought with glee about what would be taking place in that arena tomorrow. He had everything planned and taken care of—well, almost everything.

A soft set of footsteps and the quiet whoosh of the automatic door told Aram that someone else was in the room with him. Without turning around, he addressed the other person. "I am glad you could make it, Marius." He looked over his shoulder to the barrel-chested man standing at the opposite end of the table. "I have a task for you."

XXxxXxX

"You could have at least pretended to pay attention, Rodney!" Colonel Sheppard scolded as he stalked down the corridor. The candles that lit the corridor flickered as he walked past. His boots make a soft thump as they made contact with the stone floor.

"It's not my fault that diplomacy is boring," McKay shot back. "And don't pretend like it doesn't bore you either."

"Enough!" Teyla raised her voice slightly in exasperation. The two men shut their mouths immediately. Teyla softened her voice again. "Get some rest—all of you. And Rodney, please try to pay attention tomorrow." The automatic door to her own quarters opened for her. She said "Good night" and disappeared behind the door.

Rodney didn't wait for Ronon and Sheppard to enter their quarters before he entered his own; he didn't even bid them good night. He took off his vest, deposited it on a red velvet-cushioned armchair and fell backward onto his bed, reveling in the comfortable down mattress. Despite the comfort of his quarters, however, he couldn't sleep. He lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling for what seemed like hours, making note of every bump and crack in the arched wooden beams.

He couldn't wait to go back to Atlantis. From the moment he left their briefing for this mission, he knew it was going to be dull. The Makkedahns—while rather nice people—seemed too simple for his interest. Oh sure, they had automatic doors and clocks and probably firearms, but Rodney had yet to see anything that really peaked his interest…except for the woman he saw earlier that evening; he still couldn't remember her name. She's way out of your league, Rodney, a voice told him. "And besides," he said out loud, not really caring if anyone heard him. "I'll only be here for a day or so. There's really no point in getting attached. I'm too important and busy." But something inside him told him that that was a pretty lame excuse.

Rodney almost fell out of bed when a loud rap on his door pulled him away from his thoughts. In fact, his feet got tangled in the sheets and he hit the floor with a loud thud. There was a second and more insistent knock. "Gimme a minute wouldja?" He snapped, desperately trying to extricate himself from the sheets. When he finally did get to his door, he opened it, assuming it was Sheppard. "What could you possibly wa—" He was cut short by a painful blow to his face; his world suddenly went black.

XXxXXxX

A/N: Sorry it's kinda short. Thanks for the encouraging reviews. I want to apologize if my OC got a little too Mary-Sueish in this chapter. I'm trying really, really hard not to make her a Mary-Sue. Hope you're excited about the next chapter, cuz I am excited about writing it. 

A/N (3/28/07): I revised this chapter a little, in case you didn't notice. I think now Rodney isn't drooling over her good looks that much anymore…I hope.