Double-Dealing

A/N: Hi out there! I just wanted to say thanks for reading this. Currently, I am addicted to Zelda: Four Swords! If you have played it before, you know how that game makes you super greedy and your best friends turn into money grubbing thieves! Yup, or at least, that's what my friends turn into. Alrighty, off I go again to become the Hero of Darkness!

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

Chapter Ten: One Step Back, One Step Forward

Balibob was furiously scribbling in a burgundy journal labeled 'Entertaining Other Royals' while King Zaffalot and Queen Stoweek stared at him from the other end of the dining table. They sat in the room where SG-1 first met their royal doubles.

"Brilliant!" Balibob exclaimed as he snapped the journal closed and stuck the green feather pen back into his feathered collar.

"May I ask where my daughter is?" Queen Stoweek asked as she fidgeted with one of her silver rings.

"Do not be worried. She is currently with King Ful'ardi, the Queen, and Prince… um… getting acquainted!" Balibob said nervously.

King Zaffaloft placed his hand over his wife's, stopping her from fidgeting, "She is in safe hands."

She nodded as she smiled at him.

Balibob cleared his throat, "Ah, wouldn't you like to tour the castle? It is fabulous!"

As they stood up, the double doors flung open and in came King Ful'ardi and Queen Kukinis.

"My dear, everything will be fine! Calm down," he said to her as they walked toward the table.

"But-but my dress! It was my favorite! I just feel so, so insecure knowing it is with someone else!"

King Zaffaloft and Queen Stoweek exchanged confused looks and turned to Balibob for an explanation. It was Balibob's turn to fidget as he rushed over to the other royal couple.

"I thought you were with Princess Lyra! Get out of here!" he hissed at them

Their eyes widened. Queen Kukinis flipped out her fan and began to fan herself as she paced back and forth.

"How dare you speak to us so rudely! Balibob, what has happened to you?" King Ful'ardi said as he clenched his long beard.

Balibob's eyes widened in recognition. This was the real royal couple, not the undercover ones.

"I didn't—You… Your highness, forgive me!" he pleaded as he went on his hands and knees, bowing up and down.

"Oh get up Balibob. We could never stay mad at you," Queen Kukinis said as she stopped fanning and stared at the couple standing at the table.

"You didn't say we had guests," she muttered behind her fan.

"Ah… that's because we thought you were supposed to stay in the west wing of the castle," Balibob whispered.

"I can't help it! I can't be confined in the royal garden all day! I need to roam and get some fresh air!" she answered as she began to fan herself again.

Balibob looked at King Ful'ardi.

He merely shrugged and said, "She's very persuasive."

"Greetings King Ful'ardi and Queen Kukinis. It is a pleasure to meet you again. Your Chief Councilor of Affairs has been most cordial to us," King Zaffaloft said with a slight bow of his head.

"Don't take this the wrong way but… who are you?" King Ful'ardi asked.

Balibob almost fainted when he asked the question.

"This is King Zaffaloft and Queen Stoweek, father and mother of Princess Lyra," Balibob said with a nervous chuckle, "You're always one to joke sire! Good joke!"

"OH! That King and Queen! Of course, just joking, of course," King Ful'ardi said as he patted Balibob on the shoulder, "So, where's Princess Lyra?"

Balibob almost fainted… again.

"I thought she was with you," Queen Stoweek replied.

"You may call me Kuki!" Queen Kukinis said, rather randomly, "This is exciting isn't it?"

"Where is Lyra?" King Zaffaloft asked.

"I thought I asked you that… wait… is this a game?" King Ful'ardi said with a grin.

"Oh! I just love games! Is it my turn to ask something?" Queen Kukinis said in enthusiasm, "Do you like games Stoweek?"

"No," she replied stoically, "I would much rather prefer seeing my daughter."

"Ah, she's—she's—" Balibob stuttered.

"Touring the castle?" Queen Kukinis said triumphantly as she raised her fan in the air.

"YES! That's what she's doing!" Balibob said in relief.

"I won! Darling, I won!" she said to the King.

"Yes dear, very good for you. I was on the verge of getting it but you're always better at games than me," he said as he clapped for her.

Balibob had also begun clapping, "Brilliant! Brilliant!"

King Zaffaloft raised his eyebrow at them and Queen Stoweek simply stared at them.

"Well, time to get back to the west wing," Balibob said as he ushered the hysterical royal couple.

"Is this a new game?" Queen Kukinis asked as she walked out.

"I won't let you win again!" King Ful'ardi said as he followed her.

Balibob walked back to the other couple.

"Shall we?" he asked them as he clasped his hands together.

"Is this a game?" King Zaffaloft asked warily.

"What a sense of humor!" Balibob said.

"Yes, he does have an amazing sense of humor," Queen Stoweek said seriously.

Balibob nodded, "I meant, shall we start the tour?"

"By all means," the King said.

They left the dining room and began to explore the vast castle, starting with the wing furthest from the west wing.

XXXX

Sam sat facing Daniel. They were in one of the empty interrogation rooms in the holding tower. He wasn't looking at her, trying to avoid her gaze.

"Daniel, I believe her," Sam said, giving him a reassuring smile.

He didn't answer.

Sensing that he wanted to be alone, she got up to leave.

"Sam, wait," he said with a sigh.

She sat back down.

"Lyra didn't do it and I know she didn't. She was about to tell me something important before the guards took her."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, if I could just talk to her alone, I know she would tell me."

Sam flipped her fake long hair over her shoulder and slowly said, "Yes, it did feel like she was hiding something but Daniel… I'm afraid the Colonel is right."

Daniel shook his head in disbelief, "Sam, you can't be serious. He had no right to treat her like some criminal and on top of that, leave me out of the loop."

"Look, I know you're angry but you have to realize that Lyra is not Sha're," Sam said.

She saw the hurt look on his face and knew that she had hit the core of the problem, no matter how painful it was. He needed to deal with it someway or other.

"I know," he said quietly, "But I still want to protect her."

He brushed a hand threw his hair as he began to stare at nothing in particular.

Sam took it as her cue to leave and this time when she stood up, he didn't stop her. As she stood in the doorway, she looked back at Daniel. He seemed to be in another time and place, a melancholy smile playing across his face. He was going back to Sha're, to the only place he knew he would find her… in his memories.

XXXX

Jack and Teal'c headed toward the room where Altair was being restrained. They were nearly two meters from the door when they heard shouts coming from inside. They ran into the room to see Altair perched at the window and another man with a gray sphere in his hand standing beside him. He had piercing blue eyes that Teal'c recognized immediately. Three guards were unconscious on the floor.

"Come Tray!" Altair ordered as he jumped out the window.

"Stop!" Jack shouted.

He cursed at himself for not having a weapon. Teal'c, on the other hand, had a spear. He threw it at Tray, but not before the gray sphere was dropped from Tray's hand. It fell to the ground and gray smoke exploded from it.

Jack and Teal'c covered their eyes as they began to inhale the thick smog.

"See you at the wedding," the cold voice said.

Coughing, Jack opened his eyes to see that Altair and the man named Tray were gone. The spear that Teal'c threw was lodged into the wall.

"O'neill!" Teal'c said as he looked out the window, "They are no where to be seen. They are quite agile."

"Damn it!" Jack exclaimed, "Let's get Carter and Daniel and figure this thing out."

"Indeed," Teal'c said, "However, I must check on these men first."

"Got it T. Meet us in the dining room when you're done."

With that last order, he left the room to find his other team members; hopefully they would have an explanation or better yet, a plan.

XXXX

Balibob, King Zaffaloft, and Queen Stoweek entered the dining room. The gold chandelier was lit up as the sun began to set.

"Hello again King Zat—Zaffaloft, Queen Stoweek," Jack greeted them.

Jack sat at the head of the table with Sam and Daniel to his right. The King and Queen took a seat to his left and Balibob remained standing next to Jack.

"Yes, greetings," King Zaffaloft said.

"King Ful'ardi?" Balibob asked suspiciously.

"Bob?" Jack asked in turn.

"Just making sure," he muttered.

"Is this another game?" Queen Stoweek questioned.

"Game?" Carter said.

"Although we know your fondness for games Queen Kuki, right now, we must focus on the situation," Queen Stoweek said.

"Fondness for games?" Carter repeated, confused.

"Please, no more games," King Zaffaloft said and then turned to Jack, "I thought you were confined to the west wing until the assassin Altair has been dealt with."

"I told them that!" Balibob said proudly.

Daniel looked at Jack, "I think we should tell them the truth. Their lives may be in danger as well."

Sam nodded in agreement.

Jack thought for a moment and finally decided to explain everything to them. Well, explain all but the little switcharoo that they were doing. Throughout the explanation, the King and Queen listened intently.

"So, you see we were questioning Lyra but we," Jack emphasized the 'we' while throwing a look to Daniel, "believe she would not intentionally harm anyone."

Sam chimed in, "In fact, with Altair's escape, this reinforces Lyra's innocence. Why would Altair run away if he had nothing to hide?"

The King and Queen nodded at this.

Teal'c entered the room. Luckily, his face was covered by his helmet and the black cloth that draped over his face. He bowed to the royals, as a royal guard would do.

"Sir, the three men were not injured, merely rendered unconscious by the smoke bomb."

"Thanks T!" Jack said, "That's T, my right-hand man."

Balibob made a grumbling sound.

"Of course, next to ol' Balibob here," Jack added.

"The man who assisted Altair was named Tray. I have seen him before. I believe he was the unknown guard whom I encountered at the Ceremony," Teal'c said.

"That must mean the Underground Merchants are behind this," Sam said, "They are the prime suspects after all. Maybe this Tray tried to kidnap Lyra but Teal'c caught him before he could do anything."

"It is hard to believe the Underground Merchants would appear out of nowhere and especially at a time like this…" King Zaffaloft remarked.

"I suppose the wedding must be postponed," Queen Stoweek said.

Before Jack could say anything, Daniel replied, "Don't you see? Tray said that he'll see us at the wedding, right? He's trying to provoke us."

Sam caught on, "We could take the bait. If we have the wedding, they will definitely be there and we can take them by surprise."

"You mean to continue with the wedding?" Queen Stoweek said in shock.

"The wedding is on and we'll be prepared for whatever happens, that is, if you approve King Zaffaloft," Jack said.

The King nodded, "King Ful'ardi, I trust you. The wedding will proceed."

Balibob clapped his hands in the air, "Oh that is wonderful! For a moment there, I thought we would have another disaster! The peoples of are kingdom will be joyous!"

"We will rest now. Balibob has shown us our quarters," King Zaffaloft said.

"Good night," Queen Stoweek said as they left.

"So when's the big day?" Jack said as he stroked his beard.

"Tomorrow!" Balibob said ecstatically.

"Are you serious?" Jack shouted.

"I am!" Balibob shouted back happily. "Get some rest now. Big day tomorrow!"

He bounced out of the room causing his feathers to flounder everywhere.

"Jack, you have to change some rules in this kingdom," Daniel said.

"Believe me," Jack replied as he buried his face in his fake beard.