Chapter Four

Skaara

Laelia was gone. As Martouf had feared Klorel had finally seen through to her true identity. She was a very resourceful young woman, but for the first time since he had first learned she had embarked on her self-imposed undercover mission he found himself losing hope of ever seeing her again. He felt a deep sense of loss and failure at this new development. Loren and Martouf had been very good friends, and in turn he considered Laelia something like a sister. He had long ago made a promise to always watch over her if anything ever happened to Loren.

So much for that.

His mind was racing with all the information he had learned about the situation. First Jansen had been killed, and then apparently that had set something off inside Laelia and she had done something to make her truth known to her enemy. The question that kept returning to him was why she hadn't already tried to kill him? No matter what Jansen believed Martouf knew as a fact that nothing would have ever made her forget or discard the real reason for her being there.

But it had been so long…

As he pondered that hurried footsteps neared his position. He looked up just to catch Koen sliding to a stop before him. "I have news, Martouf… and I think you'll really want to hear this."

"Yes?"

"Klorel's death glider has disappeared. It is believed that somehow it malfunctioned and they crashed."

Martouf withheld his shock. "And they haven't been recovered?"

"No. But they were flying fairly low, so there is a good chance that the two of them are still alive."

"She will definitely take advantage of this." Martouf said, allowing a bit of a smile, "I believe our Laelia might be returning to us after all."

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This needs to stop. Laelia thought as she pulled herself to a sitting position. This getting knocked out thing. Her head throbbed wildly from where she had smacked into the wall. Her arm was sore from being bent underneath her. Other than that she was fairly okay. Her eyes quickly swept the beaten interior in search of her mouthy companion. She was surprised to see that he was still out cold against the far wall.

"Thank your lucky muse, you idiot," Laelia said to herself in disbelief. She could have never imagined things working out so well.

Hurriedly she climbed to her feet and went in search of something to get rid of her bonds. It didn't take her long to free herself and find something to that worked well enough for keeping her friend out of trouble. She knelt beside him, brushing his long hair from his face. There was a considerable gash across his forehead continuing a ways into the hairline. She took a moment to survey the damage and decided that it was not as bad as it looked, but when she got time she should probably tend to it anyway, but until then…

She removed the device from his hand to prevent any unneeded 'accidents.' Then she tore lengthy strips from the bottom of her shirt and proceeded to create makeshift handcuffs. She wrapped them multiple times around his wrists, weaving in and out of each piece to make a sturdy mesh before finally tying them tightly. She had just finished this task when he began to stir.

At first he looked at her suspiciously, probably wondering why she was still there. Then he realized something was a bit askew. "Release me, now!" He demanded, tearing futilely at the bonds.

"Oh, yeah, sparky, that's happening. How about no!" She rolled her eyes. He gave her a dark look. She raised an eyebrow.

"I said now." His eyes moved to a spot close by and locked on something. Laelia followed his gaze and saw what he was getting at.

"HELL NO!" She lunged for it, reaching the object seconds before he did. She rose over him pointing the zatnikatel straight at him. "This has been a really long day and it's just started, don't push me, Klorel, because I will fucking shoot you with this thing."

"You wouldn't dare!" Eyes flashed.

"Wouldn't I?" She challenged. He didn't answered; he didn't need to. Without further argument he settled back, eying her angrily.

"Now," Laelia began calmly, "as I see it there is a fairly simple plan here. We take a little walk to the nearest Stargate and hop a ride back to some friends of mine."

"I'll kill you first." Klorel threatened.

"With what, that amazing pathetic expression on your face?" Enough with patience. She was through with the niceties. She just wanted to get home. "Move."

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A slight drifting breeze picked up Laelia's long hair as she stepped outside. It was midday and two brilliant suns shone over the trees. They were standing in what seemed to be a large forest. She raised her palm computer to gaze at the map she had copied out of the glider's files. The Stargate wasn't very far away in terms of comparable distance - - the closest city was at least a hundred miles- - but it would still take some time. They would probably be camping at least once.

Great.

"All right, this way." Laelia directed her captive to the left. He glared at her, but said nothing more than an inaudible mutter to himself. She didn't care what he said as long as she didn't have to hear it.

As they walked Laelia took the time to enjoy the beautiful woodland scenery. It had been a while since she had seen trees and forest animals. She usually spent most of her time underground in one of the Tok'ra bases. Even when they were on a planet as nice as this one appeared to be it was still a danger to go above ground for very long. That was the one thing she missed since leaving her home planet. The ability to just relax with nature.

She knew Klorel wasn't appreciating the area. She smirked as she noticed the great look of displeasure on his face. To say the least he was less than happy about being captured by his own prisoner. It was probably worse in his mind due to the situation in which it occurred. Even better in Laelia's opinion. Not only was she in control, he was humiliated by it. Ha, not so powerful now, huh, Klorel. She grinned to herself.

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Laelia knelt beside a small pool and gazed into its rippling surface. Her pale face was marred with a thin mask of dirt and her auburn hair was speckled with grime and tangled. She sighed to herself. "You are a mess, Laelia Re'sepa-tei." Ree-sehp-uh-tie

"I could have told you that." Klorel prodded from where he was leaning against a tree. The comment might have bothered her if she didn't know where it came from. He was still moping about his capture. So instead of making her angry, the comment made her smile.

"Oh, shut up, you big spoiled brat." She said, and almost cheerily. She hoped her high spirits might irritate him even further. "Sit down and behave." She turned back to the water, but made sure to keep her senses open for any movement or threat. She splashed the water on her face and wiped the rest of the muck off. "Ah. So much better." As she began detangling her hair she glanced once more at her guest. "You could--"

"Do not talk to me."

"You're such a child."

No answer. He had directed his attention to a strange looking four-winged bird on a nearby tree. She knew there was no way he was actually interested in it.

"Fine, be that way. Ignore me." She finished fixing herself up and stood. "It's getting late and I think we had better stop for today. Who knows what kinds of creatures live in these woods. We've been pretty luck so far- -"

"Heh. You have no idea."

She raised an eyebrow. "So… you've just been waiting for some monster to come pick me off?"

"You catch on quick."

Jerk. "Oh. I know you don't mean that," she smirked, "as soon as we get back to my fellow Tok'ra you'll feel different about all this," her eyes darkened, "actually you won't feel anything at all."

Without warning he leapt to his feet and moved towards her. Her hand found the zat just as he reached her. She yanked it up between them. "Go ahead." She challenged. "You move, I shoot."

"You wouldn't kill me, rather you wouldn't kill this body."

"Kill, no," she corrected, "but pain is a whole different story and I think he would forgive me for shutting you up fro a while, and frankly it's looking like the right road to take. Back off."

He did so.

Laelia couldn't help focus on the gash on his forehead. It had stopped bleeding, and perhaps had already begun to heal, but it still didn't look good. She ripped off another bit of cloth from her shirt and quickly dipped it in the water. When she reached out her hand toward him he jerked back. "Oh, for heavens sake. Let me do something about that." She tried again; the same result. "Klorel!"

"Don't touch me!"

"Good grief…" She moaned. "Fine. Let it get infected."

"I'm healing it. Leave me alone."

She rolled her eyes and then held up her hands. "Your wish is granted, sir. I have to go find something to eat anyway." She pointed to a tree. "Sit over there." When he didn't move she shook the zat at him. "Before I'm fifty." When he took a spot she reached into her travel sack around her waist and took out four cone shaped objects. They looked like they were made of crystal and were the color of blue ice.

He watched suspiciously as she placed them in a square pattern around him. "What are you doing?"

"You're smart. You figure it out." She said. When she was finished she pulled out another object. This one was smaller and shaped like a rectangle. She pushed a few buttons on the device and suddenly, with a low hum, a small force field surrounded Klorel. "Just to make sure you don't go anywhere."

And if he didn't hate her already, he certainly did now…

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Laelia didn't spend too long away from the camp she had made. As Klorel had indicated there were most likely some pretty nasty creatures lurking about and while she didn't mind Klorel being chomped, she had an obligation to the host. On her way back a flash of something caught her eye and she stopped. "No…" She smiled in disbelief as she reached up to touch a blood-red flower dangling from a branch. "Well, I'll be damned." She quickly plucked a few and stuck them in her satchel.

She wanted Klorel to shut up… and the universe provides.

She bounced into the clearing with a smile on her face and was greeted with a strong glare. "Aw… no welcome home." She cracked. "Well, I'll welcome myself." She plopped down and proceeded to build a fire. The sun was sinking low and the moon was already a vague shape in the darkening sky. They would need light and protection soon from whatever was out there.

Once the fire was burning, its flames tinged with blue, Laelia set about fixing something to eat and making her special blend of tea. This, she did with a happy air. She ground the red flower in a small bowl she had also had tucked away in her bag and then mixed it with some herbs and the water from the small pond. She warmed it briefly beside the fire and then stirred one last time to ensure all the fine powder had dissolved. All this Klorel watched in scrutiny.

When she was finished she poured it into a small dish. "You'll need something to drink." She offered.

"I'll just take water." He said.

"This is better, and it's been heated to kill any parasites - - then again you'd know all about parasites." He glared again. Laelia was beginning to think that's all he was capable of doing anymore. Glaring. "I promise to not say another word if you'll just take this."

"Fine." He conceded.

Laelia nodded and pressed the buttons on her device to release the force field surrounding him. She knelt next to him and handed him the dish. "Careful. It's hot, and it will burn."

"Why do you care?"

"Who said I cared about you?" Laelia shot back. If he was going to play the rude game, then so would she. If she was right then in a few minutes she would have a break, albeit short, from his presence.

He said nothing to this. He lifted it to his lips and drank a small amount, keeping his eyes on Laelia as if he expected her to do something. "What's in this?"

"Just a few things I found lying around."

"You've made this before." He shook his head. He had watched her careful methods and concluded that it was a painstaking process learned over time.

"Yes. It's from my home planet - - the one your kind destroyed - - and I have made it my entire life. It hasn't killed me yet, so stop being paranoid. Now drink the rest of it and keep quiet."

"Stop telling me to shut up." He growled, downing the rest of it without even noticing. "When I get free…I'll…" His eyes fluttered shut as his voice faded. Laelia sighed. So the potion worked! Yippee. Now… To wait and…

His eyes opened again, but this time they were filled with fear, bewilderment, and then, realization. He lifted his still bound hands, almost in awe that he could do it on his on volition. "Wh-what did you do…. How…."

"How are you able to talk to me?" Laelia smiled. She reached over and raised the dish and wagged it. "Just a little trick I picked up back home. I'm Laelia by the way."

"I know. I remember you… I am Skaara." He introduced himself.

Laelia grinned again. "Pleased to finally meet you." His eyes were even more beautiful now that the Goa'uld was tucked away somewhere. They were open, curious, and full of soul. His accented voice was rich and melodic. She knew now wasn't exactly the time to be noticing these things, but she couldn't ignore her attraction to him.

"How long?"

"How long what?" Laelia asked, confused. Then, "oh, you mean how long will this last? A couple hours, perhaps a little longer. It depends on the person really. You have a while." She sighed, adding, "but I want you to know this is going to be over soon. I- - know how it is." She lowered her eyes.

"So you really are taking me to the Tok'ra. Klorel thought you were lying."

"Heh. He is such an idiot." She shook her head, still keeping her eyes locked on the ground.

After a moment of silence he spoke again, "what do you mean by 'I know how it is'?" He probably didn't need to ask that question because he had seen the truth plainly written on her face when she had said it. "Were you taken….like me?"

She looked at him, a look of surprise written in her jade eyes. And then her past poured out. "Yes. It was six years ago. I was twelve. Without warning my village was invaded by the Goa'uld. Most were killed, some were taken as slaves, but Loren and I escaped. However, not before a symbiote jumped from his dying host into me. Something kept it from taking complete control of me and Loren managed to get me some help from strangers."

"The Tok'ra?"

"Yes. There was a Tok'ra operative among them. His name was Martouf. He saw what happened and told Loren where to dial to get to the others. He said we would be safe and that they would help me."

"But you did not need help, did you?"

"No." She shook her head with an amused smile. "You were listening to me, weren't you?"

"You told Klorel that your body would not allow it."

"True. It has to do with this tea." She raised the dish again. "It is a ritual drink that my people consumed regularly, part of daily life. It was to keep the demons away. I never realized just how ironic that was until what happened. Over time it lent a naturally immunity to our systems. Something in it destroys the symbiote. So when it tried to take me over, poof. Dead demon. The bad thing is… so far only people from my planet are able to gain this immunity. If the mixture is taken too much by anyone else it can become fatal."

"So it is only temporary." Disappointed.

"Yes. But in a few more days you won't have to think about that. Once we get back you'll be freed. You'll get to go home."

"Home…it seems like forever."

She smiled softly and before she could stop herself her fingers were brushing across his face. "I'm sorry." She suddenly jerked her hand back. "I didn't mean to…" Her voice faded as he gave her his own smile.

"It is okay."

She nodded, then quickly changed the subject. She lifted her hand to push his hair back from the injury on his forehead. "May I? Klorel wouldn't let me touch it. He said he was healing it, but he's not doing a very good job."

"He is trying to annoy you so he is healing it more slowly." Skaara informed.

"He really is an asshole. His discomfort matters none as long as he can bother me."

"You defied him. He trusted you." He paused, as if unsure he should continue. "It is hard to believe, even for me, but he was not lying about how he felt for you. He now feels betrayed."

"Something he must deal with - - in the small time he has left. I gave him a chance to come with me, but - - he was right. He is a Goa'uld. Nothing more." She sighed. "You, though. You are a boy." A very fine one, too. "So let us mend that."

This Chapter got a little lengthy compared to the others and a little out of control. I meant to put a whole lot more in it, but as I have said, the story writes itself. Took a while to get it out, but I had some essays in my classes. I hate when that happens. I'm going to start on the next chapter tonight and will hopefully have it in a couple days. I get Tuesday off for voting - - still don't know who I'm going to vote for yet, I really hate politics - - so maybe I can have some time to work on it then.

Toodles. Muse.