Double-Dealing

A/N: Okie, I'm thinking that there are about four chapters left in this story. Anyway, thanks to all you readers out there! I hope this story hasn't severely harmed you too much!

Disclaimer: SG-1 is not mine… blah blah blah… you know the rest!

Chapter Nine: Interrogations and a Family Feud

The three members of SG-1 and Balibob were seated in the royal carriage again, going back to the main castle.

"That went well," Balibob said, breaking the unusual silence.

It had been rather quiet ever since they had seen Princess Lyra, who looked very much like Daniel's late wife.

"You have done a great service for the King and Queen," Balibob tried again.

It would have stayed quiet if Teal'c hadn't radioed in.

"Yeah Teal'c," Jack said.

"O'neill, we have Altair contained in the holding tower," Teal'c said.

"Good, keep him there for questioning."

Those were the last words spoken in the carriage as it made its way into the main castle's gate.

XXXX

Teal'c stood guard at the door as he saw Jack and Sam come up the stairs.

"Teal'c, is he in there?" Jack said.

"Yes, he is currently speaking with Princess Lyra," Teal'c replied.

"Lyra's in there with him? Alone?"

"No, her royal guards are also with her."

Teal'c stepped aside so that Jack could enter the room. Sam followed behind him as Teal'c continued to guard the door.

Lyra's back was to them. Her clenched fists were pressed against the table. Sitting across from her was, undoubtedly, the leader of the Underground Merchants, Altair.

"I cannot believe a cold-hearted monster like you!" Lyra shouted.

"Me? A cold-hearted monster? It seems you've got it the other way around, you money-hungry royals," Altair whispered icily.

Lyra turned around to see Jack and Sam staring at her.

"Princess," Sam began.

Before Sam could say anything else, Lyra dashed out the door, hands covering her face as they heard a sob escape from her.

"Are people here just… emotional?" Jack asked Sam.

"Look what we have here. The King and the Queen who would sacrifice the lives of their people rather than stop a petty, barbaric marriage ritual," Altair sneered.

"What are you talking about?" Jack said.

"There was a bomb on that balcony and instead of evacuating the people, you opted to keep the ceremony going. You royals never care about the people do you?"

"Pardon me," Sam said, "But you were the one who put the bomb there in the first place. You were the one who was ready to kill at all costs."

Altair turned his cold gaze to Sam, "I did not put a bomb anywhere. I am innocent of this charge. You are holding the wrong man."

"Now, lemme get this straight," Jack said, "You're telling us that you've got nothing to do with this even though you knew about the bomb and you were the top suspect in this and we're supposed to believe you because you said so?"

"At this moment, the true culprit is out loose, plotting his next attack."

"How do you know about the bomb?"

"The royals are so loud about everything that I picked it up."

"What reason did you have to attend the Ceremony?" Sam asked.

At this, Altair paused.

"I… simply wanted to see the union that would topple my dreams."

"…Right," Jack muttered.

XXXX

Daniel had finally decided to join the rest in interrogating the captive. As he ascended the stairs, memories of Sha're flooded into his mind and he closed his eyes as the lingering pain he had fought so hard to erase was starting to grow back, full force.

Suddenly, something—someone ran into him. He opened his eyes and gasped. It was Princess Lyra. She backed away from him as she repeatedly apologized.

"It's okay Princess Lyra," he said and noticed that she had been crying, "Are you okay though?"

She looked down at her clenched hands. Slowly, she looked up at Daniel. Her clear brown eyes struck Daniel so unexpectedly that for a brief moment he thought of her as Sha're and not the Princess.

"Sha're…" he whispered.

Her eyes widened.

"So, you love of another?" she whispered.

She sounded almost relieved for a moment.

"I-I'm sorry," he quickly replied, "I'm just not thinking straight right now."

"I must tell you something, regarding the assassination attempt," Lyra said abruptly.

Daniel blinked before responding, "What?"

"I was the one who wrote the assassination notice but—"

"Seize her!"

Before Lyra could finish her confession, a flurry of guards was heading straight at them, yelling and cursing.

"But what?" Daniel implored as he grabbed her arms.

She was violently yanked away from him by a guard and disappeared amongst the mob. He heard her frantically call out for him. He tried pushing through the guards, but their strength overwhelmed him.

Finally, he began ordering them.

"Stop this!" he cried, "I, Prince Nar, am ordering you to stop this!"

They weren't listening to him as they carried the Princess off.

He was losing her again and he couldn't do anything to stop it… again.

XXXX

Jack, Sam and Teal'c entered the interrogation room. Princess Lyra sat in the corner of the room, hands resting on her lap. She didn't look up at them as they approached her cautiously.

"Princess Lyra, we need to ask you a few questions," Sam said calmly, not wanting to startle her.

A few seconds passed before she replied in a small voice, "Please do, your highness."

Jack nodded at Sam, giving her the go-ahead to ask more questions.

"Why did you write the assassination note?"

"Because… I am a coward," she answered as she stared at the stone flooring, "I was running away from this marriage."

"It's okay to be scared Lyra. I mean, if I were in your position, I would be too. What's important right now is to figure out who is really behind the assassination attempt."

She quickly looked up at Sam, "That note was supposed to be a fake. I did not intend to harm anyone!"

Carter knelt down and placed her hand on Lyra's.

"Lyra, we want to believe you—"

"But that bomb was aimed specifically at us! How can you explain that?" Jack said, interrupting Sam.

"King Ful'ardi, I assure you I did not give that order nor did my parents. We would never think of assassinating our allies!" Lyra said, her voice quivering in desperation.

"Wouldn't think of bombing us but write us a note instead?" Jack said, "You even have the Underground Merchants working for you."

"Altair would not do something like that," Lyra whispered.

"They would not," she said aloud, to the Colonel especially.

"Sir, please calm down," Carter said, noticing Lyra's apprehension.

At that moment, Daniel burst into the room with two guards behind him. It seemed like they were breathing hard.

"I am sorry, your royal highness, I could not stop him," one of the guards said.

Jack sighed, "He was bound to come in anyway. You guys can get some rest."

The two guards looked relieved and marched out the door.

"Why'd you do that?" Daniel angrily said.

"Do what?" Jack asked innocently.

Teal'c and Sam felt an argument coming. Princess Lyra could feel the tension increase ten fold when Daniel entered the room.

"You know what you did Jack! I have as much right to be here as you do!"

"No you don't, son," Jack said, emphasizing 'son' to both annoy and remind Daniel that they had to keep with the charade, "If you were here, which you are now, your emotions would cloud your judgment."

"Listen, Lyra is innocent. She wrote the note but she did not want to kill us!"

"See? There it is! Emotions clouding judgment!"

Daniel turned to Teal'c, "You were with her most of the time at the Courtship Ceremony. She wasn't acting suspicious in any way, right?"

Teal'c pondered for a moment. He hesitated in speaking.

"There was indeed a strange occurrence between Princess Lyra and an unknown guard. It seemed that he had assisted the Princess when she had tripped. Before I could question him further, he had disappeared."

"Unknown guard?" Jack asked, "Sounds suspicious to me."

"But, he was helping her! Right Lyra?" Daniel said.

Princess Lyra nodded slowly, "But I too believe it was strange that he… the guard was there."

"What do you mean?" Sam inquired.

"He knew my name and I vaguely recognized him," she said.

A thought slowly formed in Carter's mind. She was trying to piece the information together and draw a possible conclusion. She stood up so suddenly that she startled Lyra.

"Sir, what if there was a traitor amongst Lyra's people? That would explain who would know of the letter, why the bomb was only directed at us, and how the guard, working undercover of course, knew Lyra's name."

"Maybe…" Jack remarked. "But we still have to keep her confined for safety precautions."

Daniel glared at the Colonel, "What?"

Princess Lyra jumped in before Jack could respond, "Thank you Prince Narcassous, but I shall endure this as punishment for my foolish actions."

Daniel turned around abruptly and left the room. Jack sighed guiltily. He knew it was hard on Daniel, seeing his wife's image alive again, but they needed to do what they had to do, even if they didn't like it, especially when Jack O'neill had to play tough-soldier-man.

"I'll talk to him," Sam said quietly as she followed after Daniel.

Jack stood staring at the empty doorway. He felt a hand touch his arm and turned to see that it was Princess Lyra.

"King Ful'ardi, I understand your concern. Please, do not feel guilty about doing the right."

He smiled and patted her hand, "We'll solve this mess."

"I believe you will."

Jack couldn't believe how much she not only looked like Sha're, but how much she exuded Sha're's personality. This was definitely hard on Daniel.

"Teal'c," he said.

With a nod, Teal'c waited for Jack to leave the room before he also left.

Princess Lyra went back into the corner and sat down, hands folded on her lap. She gazed up at the ceiling, wondering why the Prince had called his father 'Jack' and why the Queen continually referred to her husband as 'sir'.

A/N: Whoa, got a little angsty there towards the end, but don't worry... more humor will ensue!