Myrddin showed them through a door in the main castle. Waiting for them was a young woman about Myrddin's age. When he saw her, the young Avaloran smiled and bowed to her as he had done to Ariana.

"Lady Etain. Allow me to present you to our visitors of the Taur'i. This is the lady-doctor Ariana Farrell and her men: the bard Daniel Jackson and the commander of the lady's guard, Colonel Jack O'Neill."

Jack and Ariana shot glances in Daniel's direction at the introduction, but the archaeologist merely shrugged.

Etain bowed her head to them. "Well met, friends. I am Etain mab Epona le Crevan. My queen has asked that I ensure your comfort. Please allow me to show you the accommodations we have set aside for your visit."

The suite of rooms she showed them to consisted of a luxuriously appointed sitting room and bedchamber with an adjoining bathing and dressing room. Jack stopped in the bedchamber, seemingly mesmerized by the enormous bed taking up most of the floor space.

"Now that's a king-sized bed." Turning to Etain he said, "I hope the beds in our rooms are that big." He gestured to himself and Daniel.

Both Etain and Myrddin looked puzzled. "Your rooms?" the young woman asked.

"Jack and I can share a room if necessary. We don't mind," Daniel assured her quickly.

Etain shook her head, frowning. "Your place is here - with your lady. I am sorry if things are done differently among the Taur'i, but it would be appear most unseemly if you were to stay elsewhere."

Ariana grinned as the two men were seemingly struck dumb. "That's alright, Etain. If the colonel snores, I'll just have to poke him with my sidearm." Her grin widened as a furious blush appeared on the normally unflappable colonel's face. Daniel had stopped gaping and was trying to suppress a grin of his at his friend's obvious discomfiture.

Etain nodded, though she still appeared uncertain. "Very well. There is to be a feast this evening in celebration of your visit. Since you did not bring a maid, Lady, I will send one of mine to help you dress for the feast."

"Uh, Etain...We didn't bring any clothing for a formal meal," Ariana said.

"I see," Etain frowned. "I will have appropriate attire sent for you all with my maid, then."

"We would appreciate it," replied Daniel quickly, seeing that Jack was about to protest.

"Good. I have sent for a light meal to be served to you in the meantime. Please let the servants know if you have any further needs." With a final nod to them all, Etain left, followed by Myrddin.

"I do not snore - Daniel does!"

"Hey! I do NOT."

"Do!"

"Not!"

Ariana couldn't help it, she started laughing. They were impossible! After a moment, they both joined her. It helped to break the tension.

"So, what now?" asked Jack.

"I don't know about you, Abbott and Costello, but I intend to bathe. I smell like horse and I'm covered in dust." Ariana plucked at her filthy jacket.

"Etain said that she'd sent for food," Daniel reminded her.

"Then I'll hurry," she replied, picking up her pack and walking into the bath chamber.

When Ariana reentered the sitting room, she found Jack and Daniel munching on a variety of fruits, bread and several cheeses. Daniel looked up from the bread he was spreading with a soft cheese.

"Feel better?"

"Uh huh. Thank god they've got hot running water." Etain had proudly demonstrated the faucets for them during the tour of the suite.

"My turn then," said Daniel, groaning like an old man as he rose to his feet.

"Sore?" At his answering nod she looked over at the colonel. "You, too, Jack?"

"You betcha," he confirmed.

"Okay. We need to take care of this now, or you two won't be able to walk tomorrow." Ariana went back to her pack and rummaged around before coming out with a bottle in one hand and a tube of something in the other. Opening the bottle she handed both men a couple of pills.

"Here, take these. We'll start you out with 500 mg of Ibuprofen. Take a hot bath and when you get out, I'll give you both a massage with this." She held up the tube.

"What's that?" asked Jack suspiciously as Daniel took his pills and obediently headed for the bathroom.

"It's called ketoprofen. It's a non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug in a cream form. Don't worry, Jack - you won't end up smelling like someone's granny. It's odorless," She assured him.

"I don't care if I end up smelling like a granny," chimed Daniel from the bedroom where he was getting clean clothes.

Jack snorted. "I do, Daniel. Hurry, will ya? When I get out you can fill us in on what you and Myrddin were being so chatty about on the way here."

By the time that Jack had finished his own bath, Ariana was already working on Daniel. She was seated in the center of the enormous bed and had the archaeologist stretched out on his stomach next to her wearing only a t-shirt and boxers. Daniel had his face buried in his arms and Jack thought he knew why. It wasn't every day that you had a beautiful woman massaging your thighs - even if she was your friend and a doctor besides. Jack couldn't help grinning as Daniel groaned in pleasure at Ariana's ministrations.

At that moment, Ariana noticed his presence. She patted the empty side of the bed and wiggled her eyebrows at him. "Drop those pants and come here, Jack. You're next."

He laughed and complied, stripping down to his boxers and laying down where she indicated. As Ariana turned her attention back to the massage she was giving the archaeologist, Daniel shot him a desperate glance. Uh oh, Jack thought, Daniel's been enjoying this a little too much. His grin turned into a snort when Ariana patted Daniel on the butt, making the man wince.

"There you go, Sweetie. Your turn, Jack. What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Daniel glared as Jack started laughing uncontrollably. "Just Jack's usual juvenile humor. He thinks my pain is funny."

"Uh huh... Well maybe he won't think it's so funny when he doesn't get a massage." Ariana arched an eyebrow at him menacingly.

Jack raised his hands placatingly. "Ok, I'll stop. Just don't leave me like this, Farrell. I'm an old man."

It was Ariana's turn to snort. "Okay, old man, roll over."

She squirted a large amount of the analgesic cream on the backs of Jack's thighs, making him yelp.

"Oh, sorry Jack, was it cold?" she asked sweetly.

His answering growl turned into a groan as she began working the cream into his sore muscles. My god, he thought. No wonder Daniel's having trouble - Farrell has magic fingers. He looked at the archaeologist, who merely raised his eyebrows in response. Yep, Daniel knew exactly what Jack was thinking. He needed a distraction - fast. Jack cleared his throat.

"Okay, Daniel, why don't you tell us what you and our young friend talked about on the way here."

Grinning, Daniel proceeded to do just that.

"Well, as we thought, the Avalorans have obvious connections with the Welsh and Gaelic-speaking peoples of Earth. Most of the words they are use are close to those still used in the modern equivalents of both languages. Tradition says that the Mother goddess brought their ancestors to this planet long ago."

"Sounds like a goa'uld to me," volunteered Jack.

Daniel nodded. "Exactly what I thought, Jack. Especially since the Avalorans have no writing and rely solely on oral history. One of the first things the goa'uld do to subjugate the people under their rule is outlaw writing."

"Who do you think it was? Oh yeah, Farrell... right there." Jack groaned as Ariana hit a particularly sore spot.

Daniel shook his head as he got up from the bed to grab the pants to his BDU's. His traitorous body was finally back under his control. Grabbing a chair in front of the fireplace opposite the bed, he decided to answer Jack's question.

"Morrigan, most likely. She's the only one we've encountered who's utilized that particular pantheon of gods. She's probably also a good reason for the development of the present matriarchy. If you were originally ruled by a goddess-queen you'd be more inclined to use the same model even after she's been overthrown."

"I agree," said Ariana, wiping her hands on a towel. "I'm finished, Jack. You can put your pants back on now."

"Uh... I think I'll just lay here for a bit longer - you know, let the stuff really start to kick in..." Jack mumbled.

Ariana missed the glances exchanged by the two men as she got up from the bed to return the cream to her pack. She continued her train of thought without looking up from what she was doing.

"Daniel, did you notice how Myrddin and Etain introduced themselves?"

"Yep. Myrddin, son of Ianna by Padraig and Etain, daughter of Epona by Crevan. Or maybe it should be "child" rather than son or daughter - they used the word mab interchangeably."

Ariana nodded. "I think you're right. It's interesting that the patronymic comes last - the matronymic is obviously the more important."

"True. The placement of the patronymic could also be an indication of polygamy. If that's the case, both names would be necessary to establish degrees of consanguinity."

"Degrees of continuity? What are you guys talking about?" complained Jack from the bed.

"Who you can marry and who you can't, Jack," said Ariana as she clambered back onto the bed. When Jack rose to his feet, she thought that he was getting up to put his pants back on, but he crept passed them, heading for the slightly open door of the sitting room.

"Ich dachte daß ich etwas hörte - anbehalt auf der unterhaltung" he said, waving a hand in their general direction.

Daniel and Ariana both nodded.

"Polygamy is a variable that I hadn't expected. It would seem to indicate that the true power does lie with the Avaloran women," continued Ariana, slightly louder than before.

"Indeed." Daniel winced at his unintentional Teal'c-ism. "I wonder what..."

At that precise moment, Jack leaped around the sitting room door. "Gotcha!"

He reappeared, holding a small figure firmly by the collar. The boy, who looked no older than eight or nine, struggled in his grip.

"Let me go!"

"Not until you tell us what you're doing here," growled the colonel.

"Let him go, Jack. I think you're scaring him," said Daniel.

The boy shot the archaeologist a fulminating glare as the colonel released him. "A Queen's son is scared of no one."

"Oh ho! Queen's son, huh?" Jack crowed.

"Jack," admonished Ariana quietly. "Shut the door and put your pants back on."

She motioned for the boy to come nearer. "What's your name, Sweetie?"

The boy's demeanor changed drastically the moment she spoke directly to him. He straightened before bowing. In a small voice he replied, "Beacan mab Ianna le Padraig, my lady."

"Ah. Are you kin to Myrddin, perhaps?"

Beacan nodded. "He is my brother lady."

She smiled at his formality. "Well, Beacon, brother of Myrddin, what are you doing here?"

The boy flushed. "I wanted to go with Myrddin to wait for your arrival, but Mother wouldn't let me. I heard my brother talking to Etain about you and I wanted to come and see if what he said was true."

"What did Myrddin say, Beacan?"

"He said that you were as beautiful as a wild falcon and that your fearìn were strong and wise," the words came out in a rush. For the first time Beacan looked exactly like any other boy his age.

"I don't know about us, Beacan, but your brother was right about Ariana." Daniel chuckled as his friend blushed and wrinkled her nose at him.

"You may not be strong and wise, but I certainly am," quipped Jack from the doorway, where he was leaning nonchalantly after having resumed his pants.

"Huh," Daniel snorted.

"Since you're here now, Beacan, why don't you stay and keep us company until it's time to get ready for the feast." Jack motioned the boy towards the other chair by the fire.

Beacan's face brightened and he scampered into the chair indicated. In no time at all, he was regaling them with descriptions of everyone in the court, while at the same time peppering both Jack and Daniel with questions.

They learned that he and Myrddin were the only children of Ianna, the queen. Because there was no female heir, the next ruler would be picked by the queen and council from a small group of young women related to the royal family. It seemed that Etain, of whom Beacan was very fond, was among those eligible for the crown.

"She grew up here in the caislean with Myrddin and me. Her mother, Epona, is really mean, but Etain's not like her at all."

"How, exactly, is Etain's mother 'mean,' Beacan?" Daniel asked.

"Well, my father says that Mother doesn't trust Epona, but she can't get rid of her because she's related to us and most of the liquid naquadah comes from Epona's lands."

"Oh, great," muttered Jack.

"Don't worry about Epona, Jack. Etain sits on the council as her mother's representative and makes most of the council decisions concerning their people. Father says that Epona would rather be at court for entertainment than see to her duties as Lady. She'll be at the feast tonight, but she has a new fearìn - she'll be paying more attention to him than to anything else. " Beacan assured him.

"What do you mean?" Jack frowned.

"Mother says it's unseemly the number of fearìn Epona has. She's even lured some away from other ladies to whom they were promised. She wanted Mother to give Myrddin to her, but he's the son of a queen. Myrddin and I can't ever become fearìn - like you and Daniel. Some day I'll be the fear ceilen to a great lady. I wanted to be Etain's fear ceilen, but Myrddin loves her and besides, he's older." chattered Beacan.

Something Beacan had said caught Ariana's attention. She looked at Daniel and saw that he'd noticed it, too.

"Beacan," Daniel asked, "Just so that we're all clear on something... What exactly does fearìn mean? I mean, what's another word that could be used to describe what the fearìn are?"

The boy frowned in puzzlement for a long time before answering. "Fearìn are many things, Daniel. Some are soldiers, like Jack. Others are bards, like you are. But they all serve their ladies."

"Yes... I understand that, but can they be anything else?" Daniel asked earnestly.

"Well, if a they have no other skills as you do, fearìn are simply gorderrchen to the ones they serve."

"So, all fearìn are gorderrchen, but some are also other things, like me and Jack." said Daniel slowly. He looked at Ariana, who was blushing furiously.

"Yes!" replied Beacan, pleased that he'd helped his new friend.

Jack looked at his two teammates.

"What?"

"Well..." Daniel drawled, "It looks like Ariana and I may have... sort of... misunderstood Myrddin when he asked if we were her men."

"Yeah?"

"There seems to be another connotation to the word fearìn than we previously understood..."

"Spit it out, Daniel!" Jack commanded. "What's a 'gorbachev'?"

"Gorderrchen means 'concubine,' Jack!" Ariana said quickly.

"Wha'?" Jack gaped. "Like 'harem girl' - that kind of concubine?"

Ariana and Daniel nodded, both blushing.

"So, just to recap here... The Avalorans think that Daniel, myself, and all of SG3 belong to Farrell's stable of studs?"

Another nod.

"Sweet! I'm gonna have some fun with this when we get home, kids." Jack grinned evilly.

"It also explains why Myrddin thought that Ariana had such high status. Only a woman of high standing and great wealth would be able to support that many men." Daniel interjected, hoping to distract the other man.

"Did I give you the right answer?" asked the small voice of Beacan.

They had forgotten the boy's presence. Ariana rushed to soothe the child. "Yes, Sweetie. Thank you for your help."

The smile Beacan gave her lit up his entire face. In the next moment, however, the child's expression turned to one of chagrin as they all heard a knock at the door of the suite.

"Oops! That will be the servants, coming to help you dress for the feast. I'd better go - I'm not really supposed to be here."

The little boy hopped up from his chair and hurried out of the room. The others followed after him as the door to the suite was opened to admit an older woman trailed by several heavily encumbered male servants.

The woman started in surprise when she saw the child. "Beacan! What are you doing here? You had better hurry back to your rooms - your father has been searching for you."

With a small wave and a shouted promise to see them later, Beacan left. Etain's maid, for that's who they all supposed her to be, turned an apologetic glance on Ariana. "I am Bride, meistres. I hope that young scamp hasn't been bothering you."

"He hasn't," Ariana assured her. "Beacan is a delightful child and was merely curious about us. We've been having a wonderful time talking with him."

"Hmph. He probably talked your ear off, too, knowing that one."

Picking up a case and several brightly colored garments from the bed where the servants had placed them, Bride headed for the bathing room. "Come with me, Lady. There's no need to be rushing the task that's ahead of us."

Ariana sighed, but followed the older woman obediently. The door shut behind them only to be reopened seconds later by Bride. She pointed at the two men standing silently in the middle of the bedchamber.

"You two had best get started as well. I expect both of you to be dressed by the time that I am finished with your lady."

Obviously feeling that her threat had been understood, she nodded and closed the door again. Daniel looked at Jack, a small grin playing around his lips.

"I think we'd better do as she says, Jack, or else..."

I thought I heard something - keep talking. German.