Reflections of a King
By Abby Ebon
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Five Good Men and a King
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Green eyes peered up curiously at a man in a tree. A man asleep in a tree; it was Ronon of course, but that was quite beside the point. The point wasn't the man in the tree at all, although it was amusing to behold, the point was why was there a man in the tree at all. Harry didn't remember taking along anyone from the City.
Suddenly suspicious, he leaned up onto his elbows, and glanced around himself. He had a sneaking suspicion Atlantis had done something strange again. Almost sheepishly, the planets consciousness pressed against his mind, and alike to a child caught in the cookie jar, it explained what it had done.
Harry, very calmly, screamed silently into the ground.
"Ah, Harry! You're awake!" Dr. Beckett exclaimed, a wide grin on his face. Harry offered a small smile back, and then glanced again back to the tree. He decided not to tell Carson- otherwise Ronon might wake up with blond hair for falling asleep while watching one of his patients.
"Yeah, thanks…and I'm sorry." Harry apologized softly as he pulled himself up to sit in a cross-legged position; Carson, busy with checking the heat of the water held in a giant shell found on the beach that hung over the water- frowned down into the make-shift pot.
"Sorry for what lad?" Carson asked kind-heartedly, finally looking up form his task, Harry sighed, pulling a knee up to tuck under his chin. Looking around at the camp site- it was clear they had been here at least a day.
"I guess for everything- panicking Atlantis, having it drag you all out to the middle of no-where…." Harry began, and then refused to continue the line of thought. Melancholy, for what had been done in the war, for what his friends – teenagers, had had to do to keep them selves alive.
Harry knew it wasn't his fault- but there was a difference in knowing and believing it. Harry couldn't change time – wouldn't dare to, but he could make sure the Ancients and Athosians children did not get raised in a war like Harry had been.
"Hey, don't worry about it Harry – I know we wouldn't want you alone out here. Your Lt. Ford team would be unbearable." Carson teased readily- to get Harry to stop looking so drawn- it really wasn't healthy for him. Harry just rolled his eyes, a small grin playing on his lips at the familiar teasing. It was good enough for Carson- for now.
"The others should be back soon. Have you seen Ronon this morning?" Carson asked, and Harry had to stifle the urge to look up. It wouldn't due to try to save Ronon's arse, only to give him up now. Instead he stared at the flickering flames of the fire, mesmerized.
"Oh, I'm sure he's hanging around…somewhere." Harry assured the doctor absent-mindedly, Carson frowned slightly at him- yet Harry's eyes were captured by the flames. Carson wondered what Harry was thinking of- if anything, and if Carson really wanted to learn the answer to Harry's musings.
The present caught up with Harry when he realized what Carson had only mentioned in passing- but it implied a lot more then what Harry had thought. The others- there were more then just Carson and Ronon. Harry swallowed- and turned to Carson, a question in his eyes.
"The others?" Harry's voice was roughed, just how many more from the City had Atlantis pulled along side him? Carson looked puzzled at the inquiry, but thought that perhaps Harry was testing to ensure the proper amount of people had arrived.
"Yes, you know, Lt. Ford, Doctors Zelenka and McKay, Ronon, and I - of course." Carson listed, with each name Harry grew more distressed. He wasn't supposed to be able to do that- Atlantis was supposed to be able to control how much power and effort went into getting the things – or people, Harry needed.
Franticly, Harry touched Atlantis' 'mind' with his own- questioning it. His eyes widened. It confessed to using up more energy and raw power then Harry had thought possible. For sure all the Ancients would know of this.
Harry didn't want to know what their reaction would be to such a waste. Atlantis seemed confused by his line of reasoning and told Harry, assured him; that the Ancients would not be angry in the 'waste' – for they would not see it as such.
Harry tried to explain- that resources were valued when in battle, that what Harry had done by accident could have meant a death. Atlantis was baffled- it assured him there was no battle, and resources were safe.
Then it revealed something shocking, the crystals were produced – not by the Ancients who mined them, but by Atlantis itself- and Atlantis held cave system upon cave system of those crystals.
Harry, despite panicking Atlantis, had barely scraped the surface of the sheer power those crystals held. For the crystals were Atlantis- and Atlantis, as a planet, would not die easily.
No matter if humans thought Atlantis was unprotected without the Cities or the Ancients- it had done well in protecting itself from meteorites and solar flares for centuries after being 'abandoned' while its people slept. It was merely used to the Ancients, and their Kings and Queens, acting in its defense.
"I hadn't realized." Harry murmured softly, Carson looked up at him, a frown upon his lips. His mind racing, Carson worked to put the pieces falling into place. It was like a giant jigsaw puzzle, and Carson was only seeing one side.
"You mean to say you didn't know we had been taken to you?" He asked, confused, Harry looked at him and nodded- his mouth going dry at the implications. Dr. Weir likely thought the same, that he had had Atlantis kidnapped them.
She would not be pleased to learn he hadn't – far from it, it would only concern her all more that Atlantis, the very ground under their feet, air, and water they counted on to behave 'naturally' could, act on its own, unnaturally. No wonder the Ancients had been reluctant to allow the humans and Athosians to stay on the planet.
"Atlantis has a perspective all its own, Carson…" Harry trailed off, unsure in how to explain the very thing that was seemingly unexplainable in itself. Harry could barely believe it himself- yet Harry doubted very much that Atlantis would 'lie' to him. He didn't think it possible it could lie – no matter the crystals that gave it life and millions of years of 'memory'.
"You say that as if Atlantis is…alive, Harry…" Carson murmured softly, so not to startle the younger man. Perhaps he had underestimated the younger mans mental heath- perhaps he had some form of memory loss and exotic flu. Carson didn't truly believe this- but neither did he want to believe that a planet could be aware. It made him sick just to think if Earth were as aware as Harry claimed Atlantis was.
"That's just it- it is alive." Harry whispered, nervous to what the doctor's reaction would be. Carson frankly had no idea what to think, he knew Harry well enough to know the younger man wouldn't lie about something like this- but as far as Carson was concerned such a think wasn't possible.
They had been sure Harry had been subconsciously controlling the ground beneath Rodney when he had been taken to Harry. To find this was not so- well, it was something they would have to talk about more in-depth later with Weir.
"Harry? Carson, why didn't you tell me he'd woken up?" Lt. Ford's annoyed tone was impossible to ignore. Above them, Ronon jerked awake, realized he'd been dozing, and cursed. Oh well, he thought, at least no one noticed. Harry smirked up at Ronon, causing him to squirm.
"Well, as you're carrying lunch, I didn't think you needed to know." Carson told him, gesturing to the two rabbit-like creatures Lt. Ford griped about the ears. They looked startlingly like jackalopes.
Lt. Ford had brought along Rodney and Zelenka to see if they could gather samples of things, to see if they were poisonous on or not. Zelenka had expressed an interest in using some equipment in the near future. Zelenka would have to have the okay with the Ancients and Athosians first - not to mention Weir, but he was confident it would be alright.
"Screw lunch, I'm not even sure if those are edible." Rodney muttered, eyeing the jackalopes suspiciously, Lt. Ford with a small grin on his lips shrugged, and pulled out the standard military knife most of them carried along with them. He then proceeded to skin the 'jackalopes' and everyone else- but Ronon, was very carefully not looking at him.
"I wonder how much we could get for them off E-Bay…" Rodney wondered aloud, a bit green around the gills- Carson chuckled. Harry twitched, knowing that as part of the Science Department, such wouldn't be possible, without military clearance from the government- and president, an awful lot of trouble to go through just to sell a 'jackalope' online from another world.
It didn't take long for Lt. Ford to finish what he was doing and have Carson help him tie them over the fire to cook. There were three of them- and five men, somehow, Harry didn't think that would be a problem though.
Harry blinked, Atlantis had brushed his memories, and he knew it had- yet it had done it without Harry's permission. Startled by this, Harry sought out its 'mind' pressing it with a question – its response was something along the lines of a mental suggestion of ruffling his hair.
Then it asked if he wanted to be found yet. Puzzled, Harry asked it what it meant; it told him it had 'hidden' them from the City and the Ancients. That all three peoples – humans, Athosians, and Ancients were searching for them.
Mentally groaning, a silent 'why me?' which Atlantis found amusing - Harry allowed Atlantis to uncover his position. Cautiously, he felt his people- the Ancients, send him a reassuring greeting- the equivalent of 'welcome back'.
"We might be getting some visitors soon." Harry warned them mysteriously, Lt. Ford frowned, and was about to ask what he meant, when – much to the shock of the others; Tigr, Leo, and Halling came running into camp.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Halling was working with Leo and Tigr in searching the farthest stretch of beach near the Cove. Halling looked out to the ocean and turned to the two Ancients who had acted as Harry's guards in the City.
"How do you know Atlantis didn't put him out there?" Halling asked the two, their people seemed very sure of what Atlantis would and would not do. Tigr sighed, and looked into the Athosian man's eyes, and saw that he was truly worried for their charge- and his team mates.
"TheFlagecallus would have informed the Council if that was so." Leo explained the brown eyed Guard didn't want to admit it, but he was just as worried that the Flagecallus would have made a mistake in identifying something as small as Harry – yet he knew they did not.
The Ancients had run test after test on their aquatic allies, even matching their languages, and interruption of them. Even so, this was hard for the humans and Athosians to recognize, even when they put the technology at their finger-tips.
Wherever Harry was- it was not in the ocean. Then the Ancients felt Harry returned to their senses.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
AN: I think I'm in shock. As of 2 PM on the 13 of July, this fic has a hundred and three alerts, forty-four C2's (is that some kind of record or something?), thirty-nine reviews, twenty-eight favorites, and four thousand eight hundred and thirteen hits – for five chapters. I can't say this enough and mean it more – Thank you.
PS- I'm trying very had to keep the story going at a good pace- one you or I won't get bored with, yet explain some – if not most, of what makes Atlantis, well, Atlantis – and Harry the King, and the Ancients the Ancients. Then putting it into and blending it with the show- and perhaps some Harry-Potter-book-elements, sooner rather then later…Relationships will develop- I promise, I'm just taking my time about it.
Frankly, with the ideas in my head, it's alike to trying to explain color to the born-blind, and as if to make it more interesting, I'm learning/seeing all this right alongside the rest of you. I have no final ideas- no story line, hell, if you see a plot in this- your Future-Sight is awesome. Such is the case with all the stories I write, when I post a chapter, it's likely only a few hours (if that) old.
Yeah, I write that fast – I have nothing else to do save boil in the heat wave that's sweeping over the West, I'd rather just let my mind escape it thank-you-very-much.