The Prophecy
Chapter 16
A/N: This is a longer chapter, but there is hardly any actions, mostly just dialogue. It's more of a filler chapter, connecting some loose ends.
Starstruck-SheylaFa: By ‚their journey will commence', I simply meant to say that their journey together will begin, i.e. that the events in the Prophecy would start unfolding. Hope that makes it a bit more clear. Sorry if commence was a bad choice of verb, as a non-native speaker I sometimes pick words which don't go in the context.
Erabuhikari: No, currently ‚The end of time' isn't posted anywhere. I will eventually repost it though. Either I'll repost it at an archive that allows stories of adult context such THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF MAKEBELIEVE , Wraithbait or the adult fanfiction-net.
----------
Then, in the blink of an eye, Teyla stood next to him, while she was still sitting at his bedside. Only now, the version of her that was sitting at his bedside was slumped over, as of overcome suddenly by sleep, her head was resting next to his ill self on the mattress.
"John?" Her hand touched his shoulder, startling him, he had expected her to be merely a figment of his imagination..
"Teyla? Is it really you this time?" he asked hesitantly.
"Yes, John. It is really me. Where are we?"
"I don't know, I was hoping you could tell me. Some strange woman, she said she was a guardian brought me here because I didn't believe her that what she told me was true." He answered wearily.
"I have heard of guardians. They are between us and the Forefathers. They can guide us in dreams and visions. But they have abandoned our people long ago, or so our stories say. I believe we have much to learn, before our journey begins." Teyla said.
"What journey, what is happening to me? Why I'm looking that ill?" John pointed to himself in the hospital bed. He was getting more confused by the second. First the woman or guardian as she called herself had taken Teyla's form, then when he had stopped believing her, she had revealed herself and now he was back with Teyla, or at least someone who claimed to be the real Teyla. And all the while, he was staring down at himself lying a hospital bed. He must have hit his head really hard on Arona. It fit with what he recalled from the brief time he had been awake. He had had the worst headache of his life before Dr. Beckett had given him something that had at least taken the edge of the pain.
"You remember Arona, the negotiation, the rebels taking as prisoners, then Ford coming with the rescue team?"
"I remember the negotiation and what happened afterwards. I don't remember getting off the planet. The only bit after that is waking up in the infirmary with my head killing me. I was talking to Dr. Weir and Beckett. Then nothing. How long have I been here?"
"It has been four days since our return from Arona. Dr. Beckett is doing what he can, but you are not getting better. To get better you have to return to Athos, the planet where we first met."
"That doesn't make any sense." John frowned. "This has to be some sort hallucination or dream."
"John, you have to believe me. It is the only way for you to get better. What has the guardian shown you of your destiny?"
"She has shown me nothing. She has dumped me here, that's all."
"You have to stop fighting her. She cannot help you if you don't let her help you."
"The guardian, you, everyone is telling me what to do, but you are never giving me any choice. You leave me lying helpless in that bed while you're playing tricks with my mind. How can you prove to me that any of what you are saying is true?" John started to become aggressive.
"Don't you trust me?"
"You have asked me that before. You should know by now."
"I haven't asked you before. Please believe me. I will only tell you the truth. Ask me whatever question you want."
"Why are you here?"
"To tell you what is happening to you while you are unconscious to the real world and…" she hesitated for a moment."and to apologize and tell you why I rejected your proposal to marriage. I hope you know that I never wanted to hurt you. I wanted you to know to truth even if you won't believe me about anything else and we won't get a chance to speak to each other again, that was the one thing I wanted you to know. And I wanted to say good-bye in case you decided to part ways with me here."
"Part ways with you? Stop speaking in riddles Teyla! Am I dying? Is that it?"
"No, Dr. Beckett has assured us, that while you are still unconscious and your condition is grave, you are not in danger of dying at the moment. "
"That's good to hear." John tried to sound light hearted but failed. "So, why did you say no when I asked you to marry me?"
Teyla didn't look up when she answered.
"I wanted to protect you from what was coming. I wanted to spare you this." She paused, but John sensed that she had more to say.
"There is an ancient prophecy among my people. It tells the story of the destiny of the two Chosen, two warriors, one of them is a brave leader of the Athosian people, the other is from a far away galaxy and the other is a descendent of the Forefathers. Both Chosen are warriors by training and by heritage. You have told me that your father and grandfather were both in your military as well, making them warriors. My family has a long traditions of leaders and warriors. The Prophecy goes on to state that once that two Chosen are united in body and spirit, their common journey will commence. I knew this when we got closer, when we became involved, as you say, but I loved you. I loved you so much that I had to protect you. I couldn't marry you, because it would have finally sealed our unity, or so I falsely thought. But in fact, now I believe that the Prophecy has meant something different. We have often been united in body, and when we were on Arona, both acting as leaders, trading ourselves for our people, then we were united in spirit as well. I hurt you for nothing. I just wanted to protect you because I loved you. But I should have loved you less and trusted you more. I'm sorry, I should have told you about all this earlier, but I was afraid that you would not believe the prophecy. When I told the others, they had difficulties accepting that the stories of our lives are already written, that all we do is only what's written. They feel constraint at the thought of predestination; they don't see the comfort that comes from knowing one's own fate.
"Teyla, I believe that you only wanted to protect me, I really do. I don't know whether I would have believed in a prophecy. Humans value freedom of choice very highly, the thought of predestination makes most of us very uncomfortable. I was hurt and confused when you rejected me, but the thought that you did it because you loved me enough to give up a future together just to protect me. I'll always forgive you." John pulled Teyla into a tight hug. He had missed her touch in the last few days. Between the rejected proposal, the mission gone disaster and him being unconscious in the infirmary for four days, he had been deprived of human touch.
It was Teyla who eventually broke the embrace.
"Thank you. I love you John. But we have to hurry. We don't have much time left. Soon it will be morning and Dr. Beckett will come to make his morning rounds. I'll have to go back before that. I have to tell you the rest of the Prophecy before then. "
"I'm still not so sure about everything being written already. There are so many choices that we can make, I just don't believe that it is all predetermined and we don't have any say in it." John voiced his doubts. "But considering that events fit so far everything that has been written in an ancient prophecy, I'm not dismissing it. It's just a very difficult idea." John admitted.
"According to the Prophecy; an unexpected enemy will awake an old Gift in the Chosen. You have noticed this already. Your mind has become much more powerful and independent of your body. That's why even though your body is ill, your mind is still free to interact with me and the guardian. Your mind is only starting to adapt to its new abilities. That is how I'm with you now. I tried to reach out to your mind. I wasn't sure whether I would be able to do it, but obviously I'm already strong enough. Our encounter with the telepaths on Arona only set off the Gift in our minds. But it's not easy to handle, it has made you very ill. As it says in the Prophecy; He will not be accustomed to handle the burden of his heritage and he will suffer in body and in spirit. The Gift will be too much for their minds to handle and will cause them great pain, but they will prevail with the help of a great Healer and will be able to use their Gift against the great Enemy. In order to learn about their Gift and their destiny the Chosen must journey to the Old City of the Forefathers, buried on the planet know to our people as Athos. We have to get you to Athos. Dr. Beckett can't do anything more than maintain your condition. I have told the others about this, but Dr. Weir believes that it the trip will endanger you further.
"I bet Beckett didn't like the idea either."
"No, he was not in favour of it either. Dr. Weir felt that she was not in the place to make this decision for you. She is not sure whether you would want to take that risk, because there is no evidence that taking you to Athos will help you. The only word is the prophecy."
"You really believe it." John said, only now realizing the full impact the prophecy had for Teyla. For her it was carved in stone and she would do exactly what was written.
Teyla seemed to have read his thought when she answered.
"I once made the mistake of not trusting the prophecy, I tried to oppose it without realizing that what is written is written and will happen no matter what we do. When I tried to stand in the way of destiny, all I did was hurt your feelings. It won't happen again. Halling was right when he said that I had to accept my destiny like everyone else."
"Again, it is very different between our cultures. We don't like the accept the idea that our fate is predetermined, that some of is will be rich and some will be poor by fate and they can do nothing to change it. We believe that you are responsible for your success in life."
"Just because we believe in a predestined fate doesn't mean we encourage unfair ways. We aim to support everyone. But life in the village was often hard, the Wraith attacked us often and took fathers, mothers, friends and children. Believing in fate was one way to deal with the loss and harshness and life. And there were always prophecies, written down by great seers in the past. Most of them have come true, so people believe in them. The prophecy of the Chosen is the oldest one known to us. For a long time, nobody thought it would ever come true, but when Atlantis rose from the ocean and your people came from a galaxy far away, Halling knew that the time had come."
"I think I understand what you are saying. I also see how the prophecy fits what has been happening so far. I don't claim to understand how that could happened unless the seer really could see the future, so for the moment, I'm going to believe in the prophecy. What else does it say?"
"It says that only one of the forefathers or a direct child of them can unlock the secrets of the Old City. The Chosen must prove themselves worthy of their destiny, but their friends still stand behind them even as they waver. They will struggle and suffer, but they will prevail in the end, as they are truly Chosen. But the Chosen ones are to survive all torment and be stronger for the change. The Gift, will make them feared by the Great Enemy, but it will lure them it the City. The attack will be ferocious and lives will be lost as the City falls for the second time in history. Yet, although the Great Enemy will be able to drive the Atlantians from their City, they will not defeat them. They will defend themselves bravely and the Chosen will stand on their side, the Gift driving away the Great Enemy. The final battle will be fought on the Forbidden Planet of the Forefathers. But no one leaves the Forbidden Planet, not even the Chosen Ones. Their sacrifice can defeat the Great Enemy banishing it for time to come."
"That's quite a story, but being able to defeat the Wraith would be worth it." John said after a long pause. "Teyla, this is a lot to take in at the moment, but I trust your judgement for the moment. If you believe in this Prophecy, then I'll go along with you. So far it has been nothing but true as you told me. Just tell me what to do next. Frankly I'm sick of floating around like a ghost while my body is lying in the infirmary."
"Then we most go to Athos and find the Healer there. He will help us with our gifts."
"You said Weir didn't want to let you go. I think I better wake up and talk to her myself. You can wake yourself up. I should be able to do the same."
"I don't think that is very wise. Your body is weakened, you will be in pain when you are awake."
"Beckett will give me something for the pain .I know what I'm doing. Trust me on this, Teyla. If I'm willing to take the risk, there is a much better chance they'll let us go to Athos. Now, tell me how to do the waking up thing. You said we had to hurry up."
"It is simple. Just focus on your body and your mind will return there. Your mind is much more powerful than it used to be."
With those words Teyla faded away besides him and the figure slumped over at the bedside of his ill self started to wake up, stretching her muscles. John watched her for a few moments before closing his eyes and doing as Teyla had told him, focussing on returning to his physical body.
TBC