1590 A.D.
Ambrose Viccars stared at his daughter, a slow smile crossing his worn face. She looked so much like her mother. She was beautiful, with the same green eyes, the same red hair, and the same fighting spirit.
Sometimes looking at Elizabeth was almost painful; she reminded him so much of the woman he had lost. But most of the time, having such a precious piece of his dear wife with him gave him much comfort.
"Where's Abe?" Elizabeth asked, speaking of her younger brother. When she turned from looking out the window, she noticed that her father was gazing at her. "What is it, Father?" she asked, worry creeping into her voice.
"Oh, I was just thinking about how much like your mother you are."
"I miss her."
"I do too, my dear."
Noticing the sad, thoughtful look that had crossed his daughters face, Ambrose quickly made a decision. He rose from his chair in the sitting room and walked towards his bedroom room in the back of their small wooden home.
Elizabeth watched him go, curious at her father's sudden action. He had disappeared from her line of vision, but she could hear him rustling around his room as if he was searching for something, though Elizabeth couldn't imagine what it could be.
Moments later, Ambrose returned, sat back down in his chair, and gazed out the nearby window as if lost in thought.
"Father?" Elizabeth said in a questioning tone.
Ambrose's eyes remained fixed on the window for a moment. Finally, he turned his attention back to his daughter.
"Come here, child."
Elizabeth crossed the small room, and knelt beside her father. "What is it?" She asked, the worry returning to her voice.
Ambrose smiled as he took his daughter's hand into his own. "Your mother, God rest her soul, knew that she was sick. And before her death, she asked that I give this to you when the time was right."
With that, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a small package wrapped in a white cloth, and handed it to his daughter.
"What is it?" she asked, fingering the soft material.
"Open it and see."
Carefully, Elizabeth unfolded the cloth and revealed a small silver ring. The center of the ring featured a heart wearing a crown. On each side, the delicate band became two hands holding on to the heart.
"It's beautiful." She gasped as she slipped the ring on the fourth finger of her left hand. As she did so, an unexplainable feeling of completeness came over her. As if a missing piece of her was back in place at last.
"It's an Irish heirloom. It goes back many, many generations. The legend of the ring says it was given to one of your mother's ancestors by a man who was from beyond the stars themselves. The ring was given as a gift to protect the family."
"I guess it didn't work for Mother." Elizabeth said sadly, once again feeling the stabbing pain of her mother's death.
"It is only legend, dear. Besides, your mother rarely ever wore it. She claimed it was too big for her."
"Claimed?"
Ambrose chuckled softly, as if recalling a fond memory. "I think she was more afraid of losing it than anything."
"What does the symbol mean?"
"Ah, well. That's very special. The hands that hold the heart, they stand for friendship and togetherness. The heart itself stands for love. And the crown represents loyalty. Now, look inside the band itself."
Elizabeth slid the ring off her finger, and looked closely at the inside of the band. "Let Love and Friendship Reign Forever," she read aloud. "That's beautiful."
Ambrose's gray-blue eyes sparkled as he watched his daughter slip the ring back on. "Then it suites you well, my dear."
As usual, Daniel was rattling on about – something. Oy, one tree carving and his brain was off and running.
Movement in the trees up ahead caught Jack's attention. He silenced Daniel by holding up a closed fist, thankful for the excuse to shut him up.
"Defensive positions," Jack ordered quietly.
He and the rest of SG-1 quickly dove behind some of the nearby trees for cover. Jack cocked his head to the side, tightened his grip on his P-90, and watched for any signs of danger.
After a few moments of waiting, they watched as a small group of people headed towards them. Human by the look of them, and best of all, none of them were dressed particularly Gould-ish. In fact, their clothing was very simple, dark pants and button-up shirts.
'They look like they belong on Little House on the Prairie.' Jack mused.
But you can never be too sure.
Cautiously, SG-1 came out from their hiding place behind the trees. Catching the eye of one of the newcomers, O'Neill offered a small wave, hoping to avoid any "first encounter" misunderstandings that seem to happen in these situations.
Surprise and fear played across the faces of the natives. Immediately, all three in the group dropped to the ground at the feet of SG-1.
"Please, my lords, the next shipment is almost ready. Tell our Goddess that it will not be late." Said the dark-haired man that Jack had waved to.
Jack glanced over at his teammates; Sam and Daniel shrugged in reply. Teal'c merely cocked his eyebrow.
"Uh...yeah." Jack said, hoping Daniel would jump in.
Daniel took his cue. He walked over to the kneeling man, gently grabbed his elbow, and helped him up. The others rose tentatively. "Uh, hi. I'm Daniel Jackson. This is Colonel Jack O'Neill, Major Sam Carter, and Teal'c."
"I am Thomas Brooke." The man said cautiously. He gestured to the others behind him. This is Edmond Gibbes and Robert Viccars. We come from the mining village of Hereford."
"Well, we come from from a place called Earth. It's way, way...out there." Jack said, waving his left arm emphatically.
"Earth?" Robert Viccars repeated.
"You cannot be from Earth." Edmond Gibbes said. "It is merely a legend."
"No..." Jack said, drawing the word out. "It's not a legend, it's a planet."
"What is your business here?" Edmond asked.
"We're explorers." Sam answered. "We've come to meet the people on this planet and hopefully become friends."
"Our village is the only inhabited place on this planet, and we do not often befriend outsiders. It is hard to trust those you do not know. Especially those who carry the mark." Thomas Brooke said, nodding towards Teal'c tattoo.
"I was once in service to the false god, Apophis. I am now free." Teal'c explained.
Thomas Brooke frowned thoughtfully before exchanging glances with his companions. "You no longer serve your god?"
"False god." Teal'c corrected.
Thomas Brooke seemed to consider Teal'c words carefully. Finally he replied. "Well...we saw a rather strange object fly close to our village. We were about to go see what it was. Perhaps you could accompany us and tell us more?"
SG-1 used the time it took tracking down the damaged UAV to strike up a friendly rapport with Thomas, Robert, and Edmond. By the time SG-1 had retrieved their missing probe night had already begun to fall. As an act of good faith, Robert Viccars invited SG-1 to stay in his home. And with that, Jack, Daniel, Sam, and Teal'c were led towards the small village of Hereford.
As they walked, Daniel racked his brain, trying to pull the different pieces together. The names of those they'd met were like normal, everyday names on earth. That in itself was intriguing. Also, they had a twinge of an almost...British accent. Not to mention the valley with the mysterious carving in the tree that they had found earlier that day.
"There it is," Thomas Brooke announced, pointing to a small village nestled into the bottom of the hillside. "Hereford."
Daniel couldn't help but notice how the landscape of Hereford's location was very similar to that of the valley they had just explored. As they gazed down upon the village, Daniel watched as Jack made a show of looking around, as if searching for something.
"What are you doing?"
"Looking for Laura Ingalls."
"What?"
"This place! Doesn't it look like the Little House on the Prairie?"
"To what small grassland residence are you referring, O'Neill?" Teal'c inquired.
Jack threw Teal'c a "look" and started to explain what he had meant, but Daniel had stopped paying attention to what Jack was saying. His mind started to race as understanding finally began to dawn on him.
Suddenly the pieces were falling into place. The old television show that Jack had referred to had depicted a small village of settlers, one that looked much like the one they were walking towards.
Settlers, or maybe...colonists! If these people had descended from early American colonists it would explain their slight accent and English-based names. 'But, how is that possible?' Daniel wondered.
So many things just weren't adding up. After all, there must be some other clue that would…
Daniel nearly choked as the final piece fell into place. 'The carving on the tree!'
Though his area of expertise was ancient cultures, American history was not lost on him. Daniel stopped in his tracks. Could this be possible? Could they really have stumbled across the answer to one of the greatest archaeological mysteries in American history? Daniel shook his head in disbelief, sometimes Jack's unique point-of-view could solve more problems...
"Daniel?" Jack said, suddenly noticing that his friend had stopped walking.
"Roanoke." Daniel whispered in awe.
Confused, Jack cocked his head to the side and looked to Sam for an answer. Sam merely shrugged in reply. Jack turned back to Daniel, "Uh...can I buy a vowel?"
"Jack, the Lost Colony of Roanoke!"
"Of course! It all makes sense now…" Jack replied, throwing another confused look back at Sam.
"I think these people are descendants of the people from the lost colony!"
Sam's eyes narrowed in disbelief. "Wait, Daniel…what makes you think that? We know next to nothing about these people."
Hearing the conversation that was taking place behind him, Thomas Brooke turned and looked back at SG-1. "You know of Roanoke?" He asked, astonished.
"Uh...well, somewhat..." Daniel saw Thomas' confused expression and quickly hurried to explain. "It's part of our people's history. Over 400 years ago our world was still being explored. A group of people from a country called England traveled across an ocean to settle another part of our planet. But something happened. The settlement was lost, and no one ever found out what happened to them."
"But I still don't understand how you made that connection." Sam said to Daniel.
"Among other things…the carving in the tree we saw earlier. According to historical record, all that was found of the lost colony was a few small items scattered around the abandoned settlement...and a tree trunk with the word "Croa'tan" carved into it."
"Just like the one back there."
"Right…I knew that was familiar for some reason...anyway, no one's ever been able to figure out for sure what 'Croa'tan' was, why that marking was left, or where the colonists went. The best archaeologists have been able to do is guess."
In one motion, SG-1 looked to Thomas Brooke for answers. He, as well as his companions, looked completely baffled by the conversation they had just witnessed.
"Is something wrong?" Teal'c asked.
Robert Viccars looked as though he had seen a ghost. "Perhaps we should show them the journals."
"Are you mad!" Edmond Gibbes exclaimed. "She has forbidden us ever to speak of such things! And if she finds out that it was not destroyed..."
"Yes! But things are different now!" Thomas Brooke replied. "There's obviously truth to the legends…these visitors are proof of it!"
"Woah, woah, hey!" Jack interjected. "Would someone please explain what you're talking about here?"
Robert Viccars looked around nervously before replying. "Among my family, there's a legend of my ancestors. To preserve the legend, the events were written down. Our people did not want to forget where we came from...or that the one whom we claim to serve is no goddess at all."
"Whom do you claim to serve?" Teal'c asked.
"The Great Queen Morrigan." Edmond Gibbes answered.
At the sound of Morrigan's name, Jack's head snapped towards Daniel. "Don't tell me..."
"Yep. A Goa'uld System Lord."
Robert Viccars looked around cautiously before interrupting their conversation. "This is not the place to be having this discussion. Let's get back to Hereford, and once there we can tell them what we need to."
All in the group nodded and continued making their way towards the village in the distance.