Title: The Life of Vala Mal Doran
Summary: An autobiography of sorts ranging from Vala's childhood to Unending and beyond. DV eventually.
Rating: T (for the most part)
Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate.
Warning: This chapter has mentions of violence.
Chapter 7: No Going Back
The Tok'ra dropped me off back at my home planet. I was both excited and nervous to be back at home. Like I said before, I really have no idea how long Qetesh had occupied my body, so I had no idea what everything and everyone would be like once I got back.
Right after I exited the ship, I immediately went to try and find Sulak. I hoped that he would accept me and realize that I could not help what had happened to me. I just wanted to be with him again.
It was early morning, so not too many people were out at the village square as I passed by on my way to Sulak's house, if he even still lived there. Arriving at his small cottage that I used to share with him, I knocked tentatively on the solid wooden door.
He answered the door, a look of shock on his face when he saw me.
I smiled back at him. He was the same man, looking only slightly older than when I had seen him last. "Hello Sulak."
His shock wore off and he frowned at me. "Qetesh is it? Here to murder more innocent people?"
He still thought that I was Qetesh. The happy reunion that I had played out in my mind was quickly fading. I tried to explain that I was not Qetesh any more, that I was Vala once again.
Sulak either didn't hear me or didn't care. He grabbed my arm and hauled me back to the village square.
Many more people now occupied the area. As Sulak dragged me to the center, the villagers gasped and pointed at me like I was deformed.
Sulak wasted no time binding me to a tree in the middle of the village square. "Attention everyone! Qetesh has returned, certainly back to enslave us all."
I cried out. "No! No! It's me, Vala! Qetesh was just a parasite! She is gone now!"
The villagers were outraged. They didn't seem to understand that Qetesh no longer had her hold over me. They wanted revenge for the deaths of the women who were not chosen to be Qetesh's host.
I struggled against my bindings as Sulak spoke again. "Hear me villagers! Let's show this vile creature exactly what she deserves!"
The crowd roared and gathered around me. They were going to kill me. I winced as I felt the first stone hit my side. It was just the beginning. Women and children spat on me as the men heaved stones and rocks at me. I was being stoned to death by the people of my own village.
Tears streamed down my face as I struggled in vain to free myself. This was it, the end of the line. I was going to die, punished for crimes that I did not commit.
"Stop!"
The people paused as a man that I soon recognized as Adria came into the clearing. "I will take care of her. She took my precious step daughter as a host and I insist on being the one to punish her."
If I thought that my torture was almost over, apparently I was mistaken. Being stoned and spat on was going to be nothing compared to whatever Adria had in store for me.
The villagers agreed and I was given over to Adria, who pushed me roughly away from the village square.
As soon as we were clear from the village, I finally loosened my bindings enough to get free. I got my right hand loose and promptly smashed my fist into Adria's face. She yelped in pain and when she instinctively went to cover her face, I ran.
I had never run so fast in my life. Even with my rapidly forming bruises and cuts that littered my body, I sprinted off to the woods. I was determined to make it to the clearing where I knew that my father hid a Goa'uld cargo ship for emergencies.
I was relieved to see that it was still there. I quickly rushed inside and took off, leaving behind my home planet forever.
It didn't take me long to decide where to go. One of the planets that Qetesh had ruled over was relatively close by, I was betting that the natives there did not know that Qetesh had been killed. They would welcome me with open arms.
I was correct. The villagers welcomed me, well Qetesh, back. I quickly took over where Qetesh had left off. There was naquadah to be mined and traded for treasure, and although I did not kill as Qetesh did, I still insisted that the naquadah be mined and that I be treated like the goddess that they believed I was.
I'm not going to lie and say that I did not enjoy the pampering and attention that the villagers bestowed upon me. I liked having them perform my every whim. It may have been wrong and morally corrupt, but it was the only way I thought I could live.
I lived and ruled over that planet for a good while, but something was missing. I wanted adventure, excitement, and something more than what I was being offered at that planet.
I recalled the journeys I had taken with my father, years ago. I still remembered the tricks of the trade. I knew how to con people, steal from them, cheat them. I could do that again. I could be the richest woman in the galaxy, I could have everything that I ever wanted.
I left the planet the next day. I was free, no longer tied down by anything or anyone. I flew the cargo ship to a nearby planet and began. The natives there were naive, almost too easy to con. I made it out of there with so much naquadah that I wasn't sure what to do with it all. I decided that for my next 'adventure' I would travel further into the galaxy in search of the fortune and treasure that would soon be mine.
End of Chapter 7. Daniel will be appearing in Chapter 9! Also, you can now follow me on twitter jgem87 for fanfic updates and other randomness! Hope everyone is enjoying the story!
-J
