I am a horrible, horrible person. I am so sorry I this story for so long
without updating, it's been, what? A month? And on such a terrible
cliffhanger as well. I just haven't had a chance to write much as I have
been getting tons of homework lately and I'm stressing out about my maths
GSCE and my year 10 exams. Anyway I'll try and write a new chapter every
week but it should be finished soon. The end is nigh my friends, the end is
nigh! P.S. Thanks to mishy-mo plus the usual suspects for reviewing.
Teal'c meditated. There was nothing else to do. Daniel Jackson had taken to pacing the floor of the cell; disturbing the dusty floor and making himself cough. They hadn't seen another guard since Lakas came to gloat at them a few hours ago and inwardly Teal'c was starting to get concerned that they would have no chance to get away from their captors until noon. Then it might be too late for O'Neill.
Surfacing from his trance, Teal'c stood up and stretched his large frame. He turned to his cellmate.
"What would the religious ceremony that was referred to by the guards involve Daniel Jackson?" He asked. If he knew what was going to happen to them then he might be able to devise a way to escape.
Daniel Jackson stopped pacing suddenly and span around to face Teal'c.
"Well, if their religious beliefs, like their appearance, are similar to that of the medieval peoples of Western Europe then there are a number of things they could do to us." He said, seemingly glad to have a historical question to focus on rather than the fate of O'Neill.
"Such as?"
"Well, they could burn us at the stake but I find that quite unlikely as they haven't accused us of being witches, which is who that punishment was traditionally reserved for, just demons. However there were some cases documented by various priests in Romania..." He began to ramble.
"What else?" Teal'c interrupted.
"Sometimes they would torture people who they thought were possessed by demons to death. Or there was a ceremony where some blood was let from the accused and everyone present drank it."
"Then what? Were they set free?" Asked Teal'c with a trace of hope in his voice.
"Erm... No. They were hung, drawn and quartered?" Said Daniel Jackson nervously.
"I see."
There was a possibility that they could overpower the guards on their way to the ceremony but it didn't seem very likely that just the two of them could escape through a crowded village in the middle of the day with no weapons. Teal'c's tactical mind was at a loss.
"What about the plant?" Said Daniel Jackson abruptly. Teal'c knew where he was going. "What if there's not enough..."
"Indeed." He said, once again cutting him short. He didn't want to think on that particular possibility. "We shall have to wait." They lapsed into silence.
Teal'c sat against the now-warm wall and stared up at the dust dancing in the beam of light; he guessed it was almost noon.
Then, as if on cue, the door slammed open, making Daniel Jackson jump. Four guards stood around the doorway, one was carrying two sets of chains and the other three were armed to the teeth. Teal'c cursed inwardly, they obviously had some experience of handling prisoners; Daniel Jackson and himself would have no hope of overpowering the four guards.
They were led through dark winding corridors and then out into the blinding sunlight of the little courtyard. It was eerily silent, not even birds singing overhead broke the stillness. When Teal'c's sight cleared he could just make out a long table positioned at one end of the square. Along it were sat five people, three men, Lakas, who was grinning widely and one woman. On the table itself was a large worn book with one large earthenware cup placed on top of it.
They were dragged to the front of the table and shoved to their knees. The woman slowly stood up and looked at them with watery-blue eyes. After a moment she spoke.
"Demons. You have tainted our village, you have tricked our people, you have killed our soldiers and you have sinned against our gods." Her mouth grew thin and she began to shake with suppressed rage. "You must be cleansed! Then you will be punished!" She drew a knife from her robes and ran her claw-like fingers over it. She opened the book and started to chant in a low voice.
Teal'c glanced over to Daniel Jackson. His eyes were closed and his lips moved in time to the words.
Suddenly he jerked upright and yelled, "No! Wait! We aren't demons! We're travellers from another world. We are sorry for the deaths of your men but we had no choice..."
"Quiet!" She screeched. Apparently finished with the book, she snapped it shut and swept around the table towards them, snatching the bowl up as she passed it. A guard grabbed Teal'c's arms and held them out in front of him, he didn't bother to resist; it would not change their situation. Then, at the edge of his vision, Teal'c saw something. A figure in the shade of the trees by the table, he narrowed his eyes, straining to get a better view.
Suddenly he gritted his teeth at a sharp pain in his forearm. The woman had stabbed him and by the yelp that came from his right, he guessed that she had done the same to Daniel Jackson too.
"Kidra!" She yelled, her face twisted into a gleeful smile. The shadow behind the tree moved and as it stepped into the bright sunlight, Teal'c could see that it was indeed the same Kidra they had met before; Lakas' sister. His stomach lurched. He had genuinely thought that she was sincere about hiding them but now he realised it had been only a matter of time before they were given to the guards. It was staggering how much loyalty a god, even a false one who had been gone for centuries, could invoke in a person. Faithfulness to her religion had made Kidra betray them.
She edged closer, her hands in the pockets of her smock, looking everywhere but at them. Teal'c could see that she had been crying.
"It is your honour, as the apothecary, to collect the blood. Cleanse them." The old woman handed her the bowl and walked back to her seat.
Her hands trembling, Kidra caught the blood that was now pouring from Teal'c's arm in the chalice. It was a bright translucent red in the sunshine. Then she shuffled over to Daniel Jackson and did the same.
"You don't have to do this." He said, looking up at her. Kidra's eyes widened.
Teal'c felt a surge of anger. "I believe she has already chosen."
She bowed her head and rushed back to the table. The grey-haired woman grabbed the cup off her greedily and slowly raised it to her lips. She paused and stared directly at Teal'c then took a deep sip and passed it to Lakas sitting next to her. Teal'c was transfixed, wanting to look away but unable to. There were specks of blood around the woman's mouth as she sat back contentedly in her chair, eyes half closed in silent ecstasy.
The people around the table had now all had a drink and they passed the cup to the guards who all drank with the same sickening enthusiasm. Finally it was Kidra's turn. Her hands were shaking so much they were a blur and as she took the goblet she spilled some of its contents onto the dust at her feet. Her head snapped down and breathed in slowly. The old woman at the table glared at her.
"Quickly girl. Quickly!" Teal'c heard one of the guards behind him shift with impatience, she rose the cup to her mouth...
Then, thump. He tore his gaze away from Kidra to see the old woman slumped across the table. One of the men shouted in alarm as Lakas too fell forward, his head resting on his arms. Next, the guard directly behind Daniel Jackson staggered into another causing them both to fall onto the ground with a thud.
As the last guard dropped into the dust, Kidra grabbed Teal'c arm and helped him up.
"Sorry for not rescuing you sooner, I was not able to get to you inside the prison." She said as she went through the guards' pockets. "Come on! We'll go through the town hall, it will be empty at this time of day."
They ran through the entrance to the large building that surrounded the square. Kidra dodged past the tottering piles of books and scrolls that lined the walls of the corridors with Teal'c and Daniel Jackson following closed behind, chains rubbing at their wrists. Eventually they got to the door leading to the rest of the village.
"When I say, we shall have to run down the street and through that alleyway over there." She pointed to a gap in between the tumbledown cottages. "Alright." She walked hurriedly through the doorway and onto the road beyond. Her eyes flitted to either side. "Go!" She yelled.
Daniel Jackson scrambled past a particularly unstable pile of books and sprinted across the street to the alley. Kidra followed clutching her skirts and Teal'c, making sure that there were no guards in the vicinity, ran after them.
Ignoring the shouting behind her, Kidra lead them through a maze of back alleys and paths till they neared the edge of the wood.
"Thank you Kidra, you risked much to help us, you went against your brother, for this we owe you gratitude." Teal'c inclined his head to her solemnly and Daniel Jackson smiled warmly.
"Oh, it was only a sleeping draught that I slipped into the cup. They will wake up in a few hours." She suddenly looked very weary.
"We can find our own way back to the gate Kidra, you don't have to put yourself in anymore danger."
"That reminds me. I found this in the guard's pockets, Lakas told me that you need them to travel though the portal." She held out a GDO. "Besides if I return to the village they will hang me for helping you. I'll take you to the circle then I'll walk to my cousin's town about a dozen miles from there. I will be safe there." She sighed and wiped her eyes.
"Once again we are indebted to you," said Teal'c as they started out into the woods.
They stood at the foot of the steps beneath the Stargate. Daniel Jackson began to dial it up, hands darting over the well-known sequence of symbols. Teal'c stood stoically next to Kidra as they watched. Finally the last chevron locked and the 'Gate splashed outwards, Kidra gasped in astonishment and Teal'c smiled a rare smile. He had always liked observing someone seeing the Stargate engage for the first time, their faces a strange mixture of fear, wonderment and intrigue. He still felt that way every time he travelled through it but it seldom showed in his expression, to him it was like a force of nature rather than a piece of super-advanced technology. It could be tamed, used to ones advantage but if you didn't treat it with respect it would, as O'Neill so elegantly put it, 'come back and bite you in the ass'.
"Thank you," Daniel Jackson said, taking her hand. "You have saved our lives." He turned and walked up the steps to the event-horizon, pausing only to enter the code on the GDO.
Teal'c turned to Kidra and bowed. Sometime he could not find the words. He glanced back at her and then he too strode up the steps into the blue oblivion. The last words he heard before he stepped through the portal were; "Oh no. Wait! What about the antido..."
Teal'c meditated. There was nothing else to do. Daniel Jackson had taken to pacing the floor of the cell; disturbing the dusty floor and making himself cough. They hadn't seen another guard since Lakas came to gloat at them a few hours ago and inwardly Teal'c was starting to get concerned that they would have no chance to get away from their captors until noon. Then it might be too late for O'Neill.
Surfacing from his trance, Teal'c stood up and stretched his large frame. He turned to his cellmate.
"What would the religious ceremony that was referred to by the guards involve Daniel Jackson?" He asked. If he knew what was going to happen to them then he might be able to devise a way to escape.
Daniel Jackson stopped pacing suddenly and span around to face Teal'c.
"Well, if their religious beliefs, like their appearance, are similar to that of the medieval peoples of Western Europe then there are a number of things they could do to us." He said, seemingly glad to have a historical question to focus on rather than the fate of O'Neill.
"Such as?"
"Well, they could burn us at the stake but I find that quite unlikely as they haven't accused us of being witches, which is who that punishment was traditionally reserved for, just demons. However there were some cases documented by various priests in Romania..." He began to ramble.
"What else?" Teal'c interrupted.
"Sometimes they would torture people who they thought were possessed by demons to death. Or there was a ceremony where some blood was let from the accused and everyone present drank it."
"Then what? Were they set free?" Asked Teal'c with a trace of hope in his voice.
"Erm... No. They were hung, drawn and quartered?" Said Daniel Jackson nervously.
"I see."
There was a possibility that they could overpower the guards on their way to the ceremony but it didn't seem very likely that just the two of them could escape through a crowded village in the middle of the day with no weapons. Teal'c's tactical mind was at a loss.
"What about the plant?" Said Daniel Jackson abruptly. Teal'c knew where he was going. "What if there's not enough..."
"Indeed." He said, once again cutting him short. He didn't want to think on that particular possibility. "We shall have to wait." They lapsed into silence.
Teal'c sat against the now-warm wall and stared up at the dust dancing in the beam of light; he guessed it was almost noon.
Then, as if on cue, the door slammed open, making Daniel Jackson jump. Four guards stood around the doorway, one was carrying two sets of chains and the other three were armed to the teeth. Teal'c cursed inwardly, they obviously had some experience of handling prisoners; Daniel Jackson and himself would have no hope of overpowering the four guards.
They were led through dark winding corridors and then out into the blinding sunlight of the little courtyard. It was eerily silent, not even birds singing overhead broke the stillness. When Teal'c's sight cleared he could just make out a long table positioned at one end of the square. Along it were sat five people, three men, Lakas, who was grinning widely and one woman. On the table itself was a large worn book with one large earthenware cup placed on top of it.
They were dragged to the front of the table and shoved to their knees. The woman slowly stood up and looked at them with watery-blue eyes. After a moment she spoke.
"Demons. You have tainted our village, you have tricked our people, you have killed our soldiers and you have sinned against our gods." Her mouth grew thin and she began to shake with suppressed rage. "You must be cleansed! Then you will be punished!" She drew a knife from her robes and ran her claw-like fingers over it. She opened the book and started to chant in a low voice.
Teal'c glanced over to Daniel Jackson. His eyes were closed and his lips moved in time to the words.
Suddenly he jerked upright and yelled, "No! Wait! We aren't demons! We're travellers from another world. We are sorry for the deaths of your men but we had no choice..."
"Quiet!" She screeched. Apparently finished with the book, she snapped it shut and swept around the table towards them, snatching the bowl up as she passed it. A guard grabbed Teal'c's arms and held them out in front of him, he didn't bother to resist; it would not change their situation. Then, at the edge of his vision, Teal'c saw something. A figure in the shade of the trees by the table, he narrowed his eyes, straining to get a better view.
Suddenly he gritted his teeth at a sharp pain in his forearm. The woman had stabbed him and by the yelp that came from his right, he guessed that she had done the same to Daniel Jackson too.
"Kidra!" She yelled, her face twisted into a gleeful smile. The shadow behind the tree moved and as it stepped into the bright sunlight, Teal'c could see that it was indeed the same Kidra they had met before; Lakas' sister. His stomach lurched. He had genuinely thought that she was sincere about hiding them but now he realised it had been only a matter of time before they were given to the guards. It was staggering how much loyalty a god, even a false one who had been gone for centuries, could invoke in a person. Faithfulness to her religion had made Kidra betray them.
She edged closer, her hands in the pockets of her smock, looking everywhere but at them. Teal'c could see that she had been crying.
"It is your honour, as the apothecary, to collect the blood. Cleanse them." The old woman handed her the bowl and walked back to her seat.
Her hands trembling, Kidra caught the blood that was now pouring from Teal'c's arm in the chalice. It was a bright translucent red in the sunshine. Then she shuffled over to Daniel Jackson and did the same.
"You don't have to do this." He said, looking up at her. Kidra's eyes widened.
Teal'c felt a surge of anger. "I believe she has already chosen."
She bowed her head and rushed back to the table. The grey-haired woman grabbed the cup off her greedily and slowly raised it to her lips. She paused and stared directly at Teal'c then took a deep sip and passed it to Lakas sitting next to her. Teal'c was transfixed, wanting to look away but unable to. There were specks of blood around the woman's mouth as she sat back contentedly in her chair, eyes half closed in silent ecstasy.
The people around the table had now all had a drink and they passed the cup to the guards who all drank with the same sickening enthusiasm. Finally it was Kidra's turn. Her hands were shaking so much they were a blur and as she took the goblet she spilled some of its contents onto the dust at her feet. Her head snapped down and breathed in slowly. The old woman at the table glared at her.
"Quickly girl. Quickly!" Teal'c heard one of the guards behind him shift with impatience, she rose the cup to her mouth...
Then, thump. He tore his gaze away from Kidra to see the old woman slumped across the table. One of the men shouted in alarm as Lakas too fell forward, his head resting on his arms. Next, the guard directly behind Daniel Jackson staggered into another causing them both to fall onto the ground with a thud.
As the last guard dropped into the dust, Kidra grabbed Teal'c arm and helped him up.
"Sorry for not rescuing you sooner, I was not able to get to you inside the prison." She said as she went through the guards' pockets. "Come on! We'll go through the town hall, it will be empty at this time of day."
They ran through the entrance to the large building that surrounded the square. Kidra dodged past the tottering piles of books and scrolls that lined the walls of the corridors with Teal'c and Daniel Jackson following closed behind, chains rubbing at their wrists. Eventually they got to the door leading to the rest of the village.
"When I say, we shall have to run down the street and through that alleyway over there." She pointed to a gap in between the tumbledown cottages. "Alright." She walked hurriedly through the doorway and onto the road beyond. Her eyes flitted to either side. "Go!" She yelled.
Daniel Jackson scrambled past a particularly unstable pile of books and sprinted across the street to the alley. Kidra followed clutching her skirts and Teal'c, making sure that there were no guards in the vicinity, ran after them.
Ignoring the shouting behind her, Kidra lead them through a maze of back alleys and paths till they neared the edge of the wood.
"Thank you Kidra, you risked much to help us, you went against your brother, for this we owe you gratitude." Teal'c inclined his head to her solemnly and Daniel Jackson smiled warmly.
"Oh, it was only a sleeping draught that I slipped into the cup. They will wake up in a few hours." She suddenly looked very weary.
"We can find our own way back to the gate Kidra, you don't have to put yourself in anymore danger."
"That reminds me. I found this in the guard's pockets, Lakas told me that you need them to travel though the portal." She held out a GDO. "Besides if I return to the village they will hang me for helping you. I'll take you to the circle then I'll walk to my cousin's town about a dozen miles from there. I will be safe there." She sighed and wiped her eyes.
"Once again we are indebted to you," said Teal'c as they started out into the woods.
They stood at the foot of the steps beneath the Stargate. Daniel Jackson began to dial it up, hands darting over the well-known sequence of symbols. Teal'c stood stoically next to Kidra as they watched. Finally the last chevron locked and the 'Gate splashed outwards, Kidra gasped in astonishment and Teal'c smiled a rare smile. He had always liked observing someone seeing the Stargate engage for the first time, their faces a strange mixture of fear, wonderment and intrigue. He still felt that way every time he travelled through it but it seldom showed in his expression, to him it was like a force of nature rather than a piece of super-advanced technology. It could be tamed, used to ones advantage but if you didn't treat it with respect it would, as O'Neill so elegantly put it, 'come back and bite you in the ass'.
"Thank you," Daniel Jackson said, taking her hand. "You have saved our lives." He turned and walked up the steps to the event-horizon, pausing only to enter the code on the GDO.
Teal'c turned to Kidra and bowed. Sometime he could not find the words. He glanced back at her and then he too strode up the steps into the blue oblivion. The last words he heard before he stepped through the portal were; "Oh no. Wait! What about the antido..."