Betrothal

Chapter 4

Ronon groaned in pain. His head throbbed, and his body ached. Slowly, wincing with every move, he raised his head. He was in an underground pit, one hand chained to the wall. He lifted his free hand, rubbing lightly at his head. Moaning softly, he opened his eyes.

Next to him, slumped and unconscious, was Rodney McKay. He, too, had one hand chained to a wall. Across from Ronon was Colonel Sheppard, who was awake. He met the Colonel's angry eyes for a moment, then swept his eyes around the cell.

Halling was to his left, chained to the fourth wall. The Athosian was awake, yanking futilely on the chain. The cell itself was quite small, maybe ten meters square. Above, he could see sunlight streaming through the grills.

"You all right?" Colonel Sheppard's voice was edged with pain, and Ronon grunted in reply. He reached over, and shook Rodney with his free hand. The scientist moaned, then his eyes flicked open. Glazed with pain and confusion, he stared at Ronon, then glanced around the cell. Rodney's eyes widened as the realization of their situation set in, and he frantically started yanking at the chain.

"Rodney. Rodney! Forget it. I've been trying for awhile now. We're not going anywhere," John snapped. Rodney turned fearful eyes on the Colonel, then shuddered violently.

"I…I don't like tight spaces," he whispered. John watched in concern as Rodney's face went pale, and he began trembling. 'Great,' he thought. Looking around for something to distract the claustrophobic scientist, he looked up at the sky through the grills.

"Dr. McKay. Can you stand up?" This from Halling, who had watched the interplay between the two men. Rodney paused for a moment, then nodded his head, and slowly rose to his feet. By standing, his face was about three feet from the grills. Immediately, Rodney began to relax, drawing in large gulps of air.

"Thank you. Thank you." Rodney leaned against the side of the cell, his chained hand hanging down by his side, his face raised to the grills. His eyes were squeezed shut, and his hands clenched at his sides, but the moment of panic had passed.

"Halling. What is going on?" John asked. Halling stared into space for some time before answering, but then, with a sigh, he spoke.

"Fifteen years ago, Athos had a series of very poor growing seasons. The people were starving, and Teyla's father, the leader of the Athosians, was desperate to get his people food. Although we had established good relations with many other worlds, we had nothing of value to trade. After traveling from world to world, he finally went to Caldron, appealing to the generous nature of the First Minister, Keir's father." Halling paused, trying to get his thoughts together.

"Teyla had traveled with her father. Even at ten years old, she was preparing herself to become the leader she is today. When they arrived on Caldron, the First Minister became enchanted with Teyla, and struck a bargain with her father. He would give the Athosians whatever they needed to get them through the next few seasons. In return, Teyla would return at fifteen years old, and marry his son, Keir."

Ronon froze as Rodney gasped. John sat back, his face angry. "You mean, he traded his daughter for food?" he spat out angrily.

Halling was shaking his head. "Not exactly. Teyla's father did not care for Keir. The boy lurked around Teyla, arrogantly spouting how he was going to be the next ruler of Caldron. After much thought, he conceded to the First Minister, but with a condition: if Teyla returned at fifteen, and she refused the boy for any reason, then the Caldronians would accept an alternate form of payment. In this case, it would be food and supplies."

John sat back, relaxing a bit. It was obvious Teyla had refused this Keir…he let the thought trail off.

"What happened?" Ronon asked. The runner was also leaning against the wall, and, to his surprise, Rodney slid down and sat as well, although he kept flicking his eyes to the grills.

"You can guess some of it. Teyla and her father returned as promised. Keir had become an arrogant, selfish bully who regarded his people as nothing more than his servants. Teyla immediately decided to refuse him. Keir went wild, calling her all kinds of foul names and threatening her. The First Minister was horrified, and, as a punishment, prevented Keir from attending a party that evening."

Halling paused again, this time taking a shuddery breath. Ronon felt a shiver creep along his spine. Something else had happened – something that so frightened Teyla that she refused to set foot upon Caldron ever again. He refocused his attention on Halling.

"The party was a success, with Keir's father graciously accepting the food and supplies as payment in full. As I said, he is…was…an honorable man,"

Halling said softly. "Teyla retired to her guest chambers. Later that night, Keir broke into her room, and stole her away."

Ronon's sharp gaze narrowed on Halling. The big man was gazing at the floor, his voice barely above a whisper. His whole manner was of apology and sadness.

"What did Keir do to Teyla?" Ronon's voice was hoarse, and Halling flinched at the tone.

"Keir managed to drag Teyla to a secret place he had found as a child. She resisted as best she could, but he was a twenty year old man, and she was a fifteen year old girl. He….beat her severely. She still bears many of the scars."

Halling paused, taking a shaky breath. Ronon's gaze roamed the room. John was sitting back, his eyes closed, pain on his face. Rodney met Ronon's stare, his own face horrified, the scientist's claustrophobia momentarily forgotten.

"He also tried to…assault her," Halling continued, and Ronon felt white hot rage flash through him. Suddenly, her reluctance to return to this planet was crystal clear, and he silently berated himself for questioning her.

"That bastard!" This from McKay, whose face was contorted in rage. Ronon watched as the physicist stood abruptly, doing his best to pace with one hand chained to the wall. John remained eerily still, and Ronon suddenly knew he was mulling over the best way to kill Keir.

"Teyla managed to find a weapon…a knife…and she attacked Keir before he could finish…she escaped and made her way back to the city." Halling let out a breath, the worst of the tale over.

"Is that it?" John asked softly. His voice was laced with anger, his body coiled and tense. Teyla was his friend, and the thought of anyone…anyone….hurting her was infuriating.

"Keir was found, and brought before his father. The First Minister banished him from the city, and no contact between Keir and any of the people was to be made ever again," Halling finished speaking.

"He should have been drawn and quartered," Rodney spat angrily, and John looked at the scientist curiously. Rodney was not normally a violent man, and for him to espouse any kind of capital punishment was unusual.

"If he had not been the First Minister's son, he may have been," Halling responded. "He had shamed the Caldronians deeply. However, Teyla's father accepted the punishment, as he wanted to maintain trading relations with the Caldronians. He and Teyla left immediately. Teyla has never returned." Halling sat back, closing his eyes. His young friend had returned from Caldron a changed woman, a change that Halling had hated. Her innate trust in people had been replaced by caution and suspicion. It had taken many years for her to regain her former warmth and acceptance of strangers.

Ronon watched as the other two men stewed over Hallings words. Rodney still appeared furious, while John seemed more thoughtful.

"Well, that explains the situation. It doesn't help us to get out of here, though," John said, almost to himself. Ronon nodded in agreement. They needed to focus on their escape. What happened to Teyla was terrible, but it was long ago.

They remained silent, while above them the muffled sounds of activity could be heard. Once, a flask of water was lowered down, and each drank thirstily. Ronon and John quietly discussed possible means of escape, but until they were released from their chains, they were stuck. John was reassured by the thought that they would soon be overdue, and Elizabeth would be sending someone to rescue them eventually.

As night began to fall, the sound of footsteps alerted John that something was about to happen. Ronon, too, had tensed, his eyes bright with anticipation.

The grill was heaved open, and suddenly, the soldier, Karcher, leapt down into the pit. Before Ronon could move, however, Karcher had his sword out and pressed it against Rodney's throat.

"One move by any of you and this one dies," he growled. Both Ronon and John froze, the runner swearing softly. Another soldier dropped into the cell, and unlocked Halling. A small ladder was propped into the cell, and, with a sword against his back, Halling ascended the ladder, followed by the soldier and Karcher.

Without another word, the ladder was pulled up and the grill was dropped back into place. John peered up at the dark sky, but he could see nothing. Settling back down onto the ground, he closed his eyes. 'Come on Elizabeth,' he thought desperately. 'We need some help.'