Chapter 12
This happened in the last chapter: Pretending to be married to the sexiest Colonel in the galaxy has been increasingly frustrating for Sam. She couldn't seem to keep her mind or hands of him anymore, therefore it was a relief to finally leave the domain for the temple of Hera. There, she had been introduced to Tiber and Arachne, and the fidelis, a device designed to make sure couples were well assorted before they could marry, in Hera's true spirit.
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Sam had finally learned where the technology she had seen at the domus came from. The temple possessed a large library filled with old rolls of parchment containing plans and instructions to build and maintain advanced devices. Hera had not visited her planet for nearly eight hundred years, and the use of technology had gradually ceased to be reserved to the goddess and her temple. Hadrian was the master of the building and maintenance department, supervising the engineer team, but he also had fun designing small devices himself to make life easier on his disabled servants, which explained why his home was full of them. Daniel and other scribes were mostly confined in the library part of the temple, faithfully copying and translating old rolls to keep the knowledge available year after year. New knowledge acquired from the engineer team or from other parts of the planet was written down and added to the already impressive library.
As Sam was getting acquainted with Arachne, Tiber and Hadrian had searched the room for several parts they needed to complete the portal. Tiber was gentle but taciturn, he would only speak when spoken to. In a way he reminded Sam of Teal'c and she felt a growing sympathy for him as the days passed. Unfortunately, with Daniel working in another part of the temple, she only seldom got to meet him. Only by chance did they find each other in the large building. They had managed to exchange news and inform each other of what they had learned, but Sam wished they could work together and meet more often. She was satisfied to work with Hadrian, Tiber and Arachne though, she liked it much better than her duties in the domus' kitchen for instance. The four of them were working efficiently and completing each other's skills, the device had been improved greatly in a matter of days and they were expecting to be able to test it very soon. As time went by, Sam noticed Tiber's change of attitude toward her. He was not directly flirting but she found him often watching her or standing so close that he was invading her personal space. One day they were working together, Hadrian handed her a cup of wine, and as she drank from it she felt a little sting on her finger. When she looked at it, she found a tiny drop of blood but couldn't find anything sharp on the cup which could have caused it. As she was busy studying the cup, Hadrian and Arachne left the room. When she put the cup back on the table, Sam had a strange feeling, she was giddy, euphoric nearly, and had to close her eyes for a moment to try and dismiss it. That's when she felt Tiber's hand on her arm. He had soft and warm hands, his touch was surprisingly gentle for such a strong-looking man. He turned her to face him and she was surprised to see how intense his stare on her was, reminding her of some times when the Colonel...
"Atalante, you are such a beautiful and skillful woman. I have grown very fond of you..." his hands were climbing to her shoulders in a sensual way that made Sam close her eyes again. It had been such a long time since a man had touched her like that and she had been so frustrated lately... "I would very much love to..." he breathed in her ear. Her heart beat increased, she was dizzy at the sensations Tiber was awakening in her, her head tilted just enough to offer him the side of her neck, which he kissed softly as he took her in his arms. Her own hands were caressing the large muscles of his biceps, climbing on their own along his arms to find his neck and the back of his head, where her fingers sank into his thick, curly hair. The short beard reminded her faintly of Jonas, but when he kissed her she couldn't resist, she had been surfing on sexual tension for weeks, she needed the release he offered.
Then all of a sudden she snapped, tearing herself away from him. She was both confused and stunned with the situation. What was she doing, kissing this man?!
Tiber's arms were slowly falling along his body and he had sad, resigned eyes as he watched her reject him. He had only been a pawn at the will and service of Hera, but when Hadrian had assigned him to the task of seducing her, he had hoped she would mirror his growing feelings for her and fail the test. Her rejection of him stung more than it was supposed to...
"By Hera Atalante, I am so glad to find you truly faithful to your spouse!" Hadrian applauded as he entered the room again with the priestess. They had carefully observed the scene with the help of a long-range communication device, and they were both satisfied with the result. "I am sorry we had to trick you into using the Arrow of Eros but we had to be sure you really were committed to your marriage vows. I'm happy to see that you are" he smiled.
"The arrow..."
"Arrow of Eros, yes, the little prick you felt on your finger? Combined with the drink I gave you, they form a strong aphrodisiac that only truly bonded souls are able to fight. Jason can be proud to call you his"
Both the priestess and Hadrian attributed Sam's blush to her modesty under the praise. Sam however, was very uncomfortable that they were still under the impression that she was married to the Colonel, and that her reaction was a proof of her fidelity to him. "Jason has similarly been tested just a moment ago, and I am delighted to tell you that he passed the test as well as you did. You too can be proud to call him yours" Hadrian said, following the priestess out again.
Sam felt dizzy and she had to sit down. Tiber had left the room already, but Arachne was soon at her side.
"Atalante, are you feeling well?" she worried.
"I'm fine.. I just need to process what just happened..."
"Isn't it wonderful? To know that both you and your husband can't be tempted out of your vows toward each other, even under the spell of Eros?" the young woman commented eagerly. "I wish Hippolytus and I could be submitted to it too, but this test is not designed for couples who aren't wed yet" she added in her disappointment.
"Yes Arachne.. wonderful indeed..." Sam mused.
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"So, the Colonel has been drugged too, and submitted to the same test as me", Sam thought. She was wondering who had been tasked to seduce him, and felt a sting of jealousy. Actually the drug hadn't left her body yet and she could think of many things she would have done to him to make him fail that test, had she had the chance... But then, Tiber's sad eyes as she rejected him came to mind and she remembered the Colonel had passed too. She would have been really hurt if the Colonel had rejected her, she was not so sure she wanted to try it anymore... At that moment, the Priestess entered the room again and told Sam to follow her. She took her through several corridors until they arrived to one with many doors. One of them was open and Hadrian stepped out. He smiled at Sam and motioned her inside. There was a large bed with richly decorated covers, several pots with open fire burning to light the place, and... the Colonel! Sam turned around to ask what this was all about but Hadrian had already stepped out and was closing the door.
"Sir!" she said, short of anything else to say..
"Carter..." If he was surprised he didn't let it show. Maybe he had been informed of what they were supposed to do now.
"What are you doing here Sir?"
"Err.. I was told to come to the temple earlier today. They wanted to get me through some kind of test...?" He was really hoping she wouldn't ask what kind of test..
"Yeah I know, they tested me as well" Sam blushed a little "I've been told that you passed.."
"So did you" he confirmed.
"So... did Hadrian tell you why we are here now?"
"He didn't... specify... But..." he said, his hands wavering in the direction of the bed.
"But what?" Sam wanted to know, an alarming thought suddenly popping in her mind.
"Well, we are supposed to be married right? So here is a way to get rid of those drugs they gave us before the testing thing..." Jack explained, although he didn't dare look her straight in the eyes.
"So they expect us to... to..." Sam blushed.
"Looks like it"
"Oh god! I'm sorry Sir, this is my fault! I'm the one who let Hadrian believe we were married in the first place!"
"Hey don't... do that! If he hadn't believed we were married, he wouldn't have bought us in the first place. At least not me. I'd probably be on a galley by now" he mused. Sam suddenly lowered her voice: "But Sir, what if they are watching and expect us to.. you know.."
"You think?" Jack jerked, looking for false mirrors or peepholes.
"They were watching when they tested us!"
"OK.. so what do we do?"
"I don't know! But if we don't... you know.. they'll realize we lied"
"Damn.. You think they'll send us back? What was it again? Six months guarantee?"
"I really don't know Sir. But there is no way we can.."
"Loose the Sir will you?"
"What?"
"Look, I'm supposed to have sex with you right now, you just can't keep up with the Sir!"
Sam's eyes nearly popped out of her skull. Did he just say what she thought he just said? "Sir?!"
"Argh! Carter! What did I just say?!"
"I'm not so sure... Sir" He nearly jumped in frustration and her anger took over.
"Look SIR. Calling you Sir is the only thing keeping me for jumping your bones so there is no way I'll quit OK?" Now it was his eyes' turn to pop out.
"What!?" he cried. Realizing what she had just said, Sam was stunned and her hands climbed to cover her mouth in horror.
"I'm so sorry! I don't know why I just said that! Please pretend you didn't hear it!?" She was mortified and he was wondering what had just happened.
"Look.. Carter.. I'm sure those drugs are messing with us, don'tcha think? After all, that test was supposed to reveal true feelings, right? Maybe it's a little more powerful than that..?"
"You may be onto something.." she said, shuddering as she sat on the edge of the bed. Jack didn't trust himself to sit at her side with his body still under the influence of the drugs, especially after what she had just said. He poured himself a cup of wine and offered her another.
"Maybe we could eat something. It would dilute and help the drugs out of our systems"
"I know exactly what would help the drugs out of my system.. Sir!" she muttered under her breath as she walked toward the table where he was sitting. His eyebrows climbed to his hairline but he pretended he hadn't heard her comment, and handed her a plate with cold mutton and fruits.
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"Look, I think it's been enough time to pretend that we... you know.. so how about we go out of this room and try to find the others?"
"Good idea Sir, let's go" She rushed to the door and Jack sighed, she really wouldn't call him anything else. Then he remembered her reason for doing so and his face lightened up with a smug smile as he followed her.
As there was no one in the workshop, they walked back to the main room with Hera's statue, hoping to find the priestess there. And there she was, together with Hadrian, all the goddess's servants and some newcomers gathered around the fidelis, which had been moved there while Sam and Jack were supposedly busy in their room. Daniel left the group as soon as he saw his friends.
"Jack! Sam! So good to see you again!"
"Daniel!" they both rejoiced.
"Ah, Atalante! Jason! We were waiting for you to begin. Please join us. Linus! You will assist me" Vesta interrupted. Arachne smiled when she saw Sam, and walked toward them holding a young man by the hand.
"Atalante, this is Hippolytus, my betrothed" she said excitedly. "We are going to go through the fidelis!"
"Really? Now?" Sam said, a little surprised. She didn't know the fidelis was ready to use yet. Nonetheless, both her and Jack introduced themselves to the young man who seemed as eager as Arachne to prove his worth to the goddess.
