DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters from 'Stargate: Atlantis'. They're not my property.
He played the video footage again. "This is most remarkable," he said to what he saw. "And the conditions were right?" the eyes behind the seeing glasses looked back at her.
"Yes," Elizabeth replied, sitting at the other side of the desk.
"Such creatures…" Leaning back in his chair, he pondered for a moment. "How could they have the knowledge for that?" he asked more to himself than her.
"I was equally surprised. But the hall was mostly empty; I don't know where they could keep the needed equipment there, much less the animals themselves."
"And you didn't have the opportunity to check on the upper floor entrances?" he asked.
"Unfortunately no," she told him.
George got up and approached the shelves where he pulled out a thick purple book. Sitting down again, he leafed through the pages. Stopping at one, he straightened the passage and then turned it around for Elizabeth to have a look at it.
Looking at the old photograph and the text, Elizabeth's eyes widened. "Fossils?" George nodded. "They're much older than I imagined."
"I believe you can find some remains on display at the Natural History museum if you like to see them," he said.
"I most certainly do," she replied.
George picked up one of the photographs, which featured part of the inner wall of the arena. "Why would they use them for this barbaric sport if they were supposed to be their Protectors?"
"Another form of execution? I assume the gladiators were prisoners sentenced to death, as judging from the images in the hallways. It would've been nearly impossible for anyone to survive a battle with that animal with only a shield on them."
"It's likely. And this torture chamber… certainly destroys the myth of the ancient Krolevans being a people who believed bringing no physical harm to another man. Instead, they enjoyed being spectators of men being ripped to shreds by these beasts…" George sighed. "I suppose we will have to begin with the survey of the city much sooner than planned."
"It has certainly been fascinating so far," Elizabeth responded. "I curiously heard of this story about a queen who apparently turned against her subjects in the Bronze City. Do you have something on that?"
"Um, no. There have been records of four women who have been the rulers of the City in different periods of time, but neither had done such a thing."
"I see… There's also a mention of a soldier named Gord who apparently prevented her from doing more harm."
"Gord…hm… there is a mention of a warrior with that name." George stood up. "Come with me," he invited Elizabeth.
She was taken to one of the exhibits in the main white hall. Beneath the thick glass was a silver dagger, its handle decorated with green leaves. "This was a gift to Destvia – a queen from the eighteenth and last dynasty. It was given to her by a warrior named Gord."
"It's beautiful," Elizabeth said as she examined the barely preserved material.
"They were very loyal to each other."
"Lovers?"
"Unlikely, more of a… deep friendship."
"Aha…" She narrowed her eyes. "What are those red spots?"
"Blood."
Elizabeth straightened up to this. "Blood? After so much time?"
"Yes, we didn't know what to make of it, just like we don't know what it is doing there."
"Could it be Destvia or Gord's?"
"It's possible."
"I take it you haven't found the remains of either of them?"
"No. But this is dated around the same time that the Bronze City began to lose its might…"
"So Destvia could be that queen?" Elizabeth observed the dagger. The mysteries that kept appearing in this city were pulling Elizabeth's curiosity even deeper into its dark depths.
Originally, she was supposed to visit the Museum of Natural History the following day, but when she accidentally took a left turn instead of a right one and ended up before its large doors, it seemed shameful to delay the visit.
A large bronze statue of a woman in silk, ancient clothing holding a small kitten in her arms stood next to the entrance of the yellow building with claw-shaped rocks.
Entering the surprisingly cool, air-conditioned building, she was met by a small woman with ginger hair and small blue eyes. She approached Elizabeth and smiled at her. "Can I help you?" she asked with her soft English.
"Oh, yes, I was told you have a specimen called the Ancestral Hunter on display here?"
"Are you Elizabeth Weir?" the woman asked her.
"Yes."
"Would you happen to have some identification documents with you?"
Finding this a little strange, Elizabeth showed her passport to the employee.
The small woman nodded to this. "Yes, this way," she gestured to Elizabeth to follow her.
Following her 'guide', Elizabeth noticed the same rocks decorating the interior of the museum. She noticed many displays of old animal and human bones, stuffed animal species like the giant Wildcat, the Brush monkey and many others. The number of visitors here had been a healthy one and most of them had been children much to Elizabeth's delight.
She was led through a narrow hallway which ended in a big oval room. "Oh, my…" Elizabeth whispered when she laid her eyes on the assembled bones before her. The giant cat-like creature stood six meters in height, its large opened mouth with razor-sharp teeth and claws too similar to the ones she saw in the Southern Wing. Elizabeth swallowed nervously at the site.
A door closing behind her momentarily distracted the archeologist. The woman then came up to Elizabeth. "We are not allowed to show this exhibit to the public yet," she said.
"Why is that?" Elizabeth asked.
"More care is needed. But this will bring many visitors when it is finally revealed."
"No doubt it will. When was it discovered?"
"In 1956, twenty kilometers west of Kroleva."
"And it has been set up only now?"
"We had no buildings for old bones until several years ago."
"Mm. How old is it?"
"We estimate around forty-six million years."
Noticing the back legs were missing, Elizabeth focused on its front limbs. "It looks to have been a powerful animal," she said.
"Indeed it was." The woman looked at her watch. "Now I must ask you to leave. Visits are still seldom and short here," she said.
Elizabeth complied with this and allowed the woman to escort her back to the main hall after giving the fossil one last look. "Feel free to have a look at our current exhibits, doctor," she offered the archeologist.
"Thank you," Elizabeth replied.
She allowed her mind and eyes to wander around the museum and the specimens but it was brief. Elizabeth needed to put her thoughts down on paper so she returned to the hotel.
So many facts and so much work had overtaken her for the last two days. She wanted to contact John but was unable to because she had no idea where his residence had been. Even George Krevon failed to provide her with the address as he himself didn't have it. She even asked some of the women she had recognized from before but came out empty-handed there as well. Elizabeth was disappointed by this, as she wanted to share what she had discovered with him. Lately, his company had become of not only professional but personal importance to her.
It was close to seven in the evening. She found herself looking at a pretty dress in the shop window of a small boutique next to the hotel. Elizabeth hadn't had the chance to buy anything close to a souvenir in Kroleva since she arrived….
Later in the evening she entered the small restaurant close to the lake - a recommendation from the woman in the boutique as a place to unwind.
The faint orange glow of the small lights on each corner, the bar with a bartender no older than fifty; the chairs and tables had a nineteenth-century style to them; the guests were both young and old, talking, drinking, and mostly enjoying the friendly atmosphere. What surprised Elizabeth was the absence of cigarettes here. Something for which she was relieved as the last time she was a visitor of a similar place where smoking had been welcomed, the insane amount of smoke stung her eyes so badly that she could not stand remaining in it longer. Her dress and appearance earned her a couple of curious glances from some men and women in the restaurant, but they were brief. Looking for an empty table, hopefully by the window or the olive-colored walls, she saw an opened newspaper and some dirty boots beneath it. Smiling, she approached the table. "Catching up with world events?" she asked.
Putting the paper down, his face showed his surprise… a pleasant one. "Doc…" he said as he smiled and eyed her new appearance. "I see you've finally decided to dress up properly," he joked. "Or… dress down."
Elizabeth smirked. "I should say that I didn't expect to find you here."
"Really. I am surprised you recognized me."
Elizabeth nodded towards the boots and kicked one gently with her sandaled foot. "You can't miss them."
John gestured to the empty chair opposite his. When she sat down, he folded the newspaper and put it on the table. "I assume you coming here means you actually want to chill out?"
Elizabeth laughed. "Haven't heard that expression in a while. But yes. I figured I could use some after the last few days."
"Good." John smiled widely at this.
A dark-haired waitress with emerald eyes approached the table; her clothing looked similar to those of the tapestries but of a more revealing nature. She smiled at John and then eyed Elizabeth curiously. She spoke something to her but John reminded her that Elizabeth was still a long way from knowing the language.
"Ah!" the waitress took this with a dash of amusement. "Beautiful," she said to John. "Why don't you bring more guests like her around here?"
John chuckled. "She found me."
The waitress tilted her head before turning slowly towards him. "Don't they all," she said.
John shook his head to this and looked at Elizabeth. "What are you getting?"
"Oh, I –"
"No, wait," John interrupted her and then said something to the waitress in Delonian. Nodding to this the waitress looked back at Elizabeth. "Such a shame," she said and stroked Elizabeth's bare shoulder gently once before walking away.
Elizabeth looked after her, puzzled by the woman's gesture. When she turned back to John, he said, "She likes other women."
"Oh."
"How did you find this place anyway?"
"The nice girl at the boutique where I got the dress recommended it to me."
John glanced at the colorful fabric covering her skin. "Did you pick this dress or did she do it for you?"
Elizabeth pursed her lips to this. "You doubt my sense of style?"
"No, no… it's just… it's somewhat daring," he said of the design.
Elizabeth smiled secretly to this. "You would be surprised of how daring I can be at times… And that doesn't include jumping off cliffs," she told him.
Now John's gaze turned into a curious one. "Really."
"Yes." Two glasses of red wine were brought to them. Getting a taste of hers, Elizabeth's tongue and throat was gently caressed by its bittersweet feel. "Oh, this is good."
"They put the French to shame with this one," John said and took a sip.
Elizabeth licked her upper lip to gather in the drink's trace. "Well, having tried many, I can say they're pretty close." Putting the glass on the table again, Elizabeth's thoughts of earlier days came rushing in. "I discovered something very interesting about the ancient Krolevans," she said.
"Like?"
"I examined the evidence we gathered there and something about the hall with the cat images got my attention." She drew imaginary papers and objects on the table as she spoke. "That hall or Protector's Hall – as it was called - was a place where the Protectors were bred and raised."
"Oh, it looked big enough, but it was almost empty as far as I remember."
"Yes, I'm still confused over it. But, um, there was this particular engraving under one of the images that said something like… 'From beneath the earth they came back'… or 'flourished in life once again.'"
John's eyebrows pressed down in confusion. "From beneath the earth? Almost sounds like they were dead or something."
"Or perhaps they were at the brink of extinction and the ancients saved them from it. I mean, if they were that big, I can imagine them being hunted for their bones, fur, and maybe even meat… at least that's what I thought at the beginning."
"By the Krolevans?"
"No, by the other tribes. I didn't come across anything that suggested the Protectors to be a game of any sorts of the Krolevian hunters… But the absence of such evidence from what I know kind of debunked that theory of the other tribes.
The particularly fascinating part however, was when I went to see George with my findings."
"What did you find there?" he asked her.
"A record of a fossil almost identical to the animal bones we found in the Southern Wing."
"O-kay…" He listened as she continued telling him of her findings and a theory that seemed somewhat difficult to swallow, even for him. "You think they brought these… fossils back to life? Seriously?"
"Well, apart from the Bronze City there is no other evidence that they inhabited Kroleva during the time of ancients. So where did they come from?"
John tilted his head as his eyes and fingers tapped the glass. "I don't know, Elizabeth… that's…"
"Too hard to believe?"
"Yeah! It's pretty out there. Could they really have that technology? Twelve or more thousand years ago?"
"I know how crazy it sounds. I'm surprised at suggesting it myself, but what I saw in that hall…"
"You mean the giant cat that leapt out from the wall?"
"Yes, that."
"Did you find out what that was?"
"Not yet."
"And you who isn't a fan of science-fiction theories," he teased.
Elizabeth glanced down in brief embarrassment. "I know, I know… I'm still not, though."
"Was there an explanation of how it was done? This reviving-the… dead-thing?"
"No, they usually keep records… in scrolls. They rarely have wall engravings."
"You'll need a lot of evidence to support that theory."
"Plenty." Elizabeth leaned back. "Maybe I'll get lucky during the second visit."
John smirked. "What did he say when you mentioned you wanted to go back?"
"George?"
"Yeah."
"I didn't mention it."
John's face turned serious. "Why?"
"I had a feeling he wouldn't have agreed. Besides, I could always tell him… I went on a tour of the west part of the jungle and… ended up in the city by accident."
John chuckled. "Your grave, doc."
"You don't recommend it?"
"Well, I do actually."
"Excellent." Elizabeth rubbed her hands together delightfully.
"And this queen…"
"Destvia."
"Destvia and the soldier Gord… very close friends?" he asked doubtfully.
"I had my doubts of that as well."
"I can't imagine them having that kind of relationship…"
Elizabeth smiled. "Well, whatever the nature of their relationship was, he succeeded in stopping her from doing more harm in the city like you said… but why she turned against her followers is… strange." Elizabeth thought back to the Protector's Hall. "But you should see some of the other fascinating facts I came across… it's uh, it's more difficult to explain them to you this way. You have to see the photographs to get a better sense of what I mean." Her excitement in what she discovered was being observed by John. "Maybe we should go back to the hot-" She stood up to leave when he caught her hand.
"Ah… how about we leave that for later?" He saw her sheepish and slightly puzzled expression. "You came here to relax a little, remember?" he reminded her.
"Oh, right," she chuckled nervously. "Yes… yes, I did," and sat down.
The melody and beats in the background similar to songs of South American origin became louder. They even reached Elizabeth's body as she began to move her shoulders playfully to the music. "Oh, nice."
"You like it?" he asked her.
"Mm." Elizabeth closed her eyes and continued to move as much of her body as possible to the music.
John leaned back in his chair, watching her. Sitting down, her upper body had caught the spirit of the song quite well. He chose not to interrupt her in this beginning. He could see the ease that was starting to seep into her, the sips her skin was beginning to take from the glass of this song, how comfortable she was in allowing herself to be this way. John wanted to see more. He stood up and surprised her by momentarily taking her out of her daze by grabbing her hand and gently pulling her away from her seat.
She followed him wordlessly to the wide, empty space of the restaurant where only one other couple was taking an advantage of the song.
At first she appeared timid. He smiled. John pulled her closer to him. "Let it take you again," he spoke with a low voice to her.
Elizabeth stared in his eyes as her hands gripped his shoulders. He held her too close. Perhaps it was the shadow from his black hair that made his gaze stronger for her; perhaps it was the seducing melody, or perhaps something else. "Don't I need more space for that?" she asked.
John smirked gently and let go of her body but held onto her hand. As her thin fingers tried to lightly free themselves, he shook his head briefly. "Don't want you to get away," he told her.
Elizabeth smiled to this. Listening to his advice, she allowed her body to give into the rhythm of the song. The thin dress made of pure silk, caressed her body beautifully with every swing of her hips, every swan-like movement of her arms, every gentle break of her torso, even every snap of her fingers. It didn't leave much to the imagination for John as he watched her body, unwillingly lured by its movements, more than the tame smile on her face. He could see her beautiful form, one she must've taken excellent care of. He would've been foolishly kidding himself if he didn't admit that his male nature responded to this. He squeezed her hand tighter. Elizabeth looked at him in response to it. "What do you know, archeologists do know how to dance," he said as he began to move to the music himself.
"Oh, we do," she replied and moved closer to him. "Join me," she almost whispered to him.
Her voice was too inviting for him and not only for the dance. He took an unnoticeable breath and captured her close to him. "Where did you learn?" he asked her. "Or is that just natural talent?"
She smiled seductively to this. "I just had a very good teacher in the past."
"Who?"
"An old boyfriend." Elizabeth brought her lips closer to his right ear. "You know what they say about those who know how to move their body perfectly to the music."
His hand traveled upwards on her back as she kept whispering to him. He enjoyed this playful side of her. "What do they say?" he whispered even though he knew the answer too damn well.
A soft chuckle was heard from her lips to this. "I have a feeling you weren't born with this either, John, so I take it … you know what I mean."
John smiled. "Oh yeah."
Their dance was observed from a distance by Gloria, the dark-haired waitress. When an arm hooked itself around hers, she said, "Look at them."
Another waitress with long hair and brown eyes watched them carefully. "He learned well. A great pupil," Felicia said.
"You were late for work the following day, as I remember."
The brown-eyed woman smiled to this. "We had a few more lessons to finish in the night," she replied. The two women exchanged a deep look.
"Was he good?" Gloria asked.
Felicia brought her cheek next to Gloria's, turning their faces back to the couple. "You have no idea…" she replied quietly.
"I am more amazed at the way she moves."
Felicia nodded. "She must've had a good teacher as well."
"How long do you think it will take them before they reach the vertical level of the dance?" Gloria asked, moving her hands alongside Felicia's arm.
"He's responding very quickly to her." Felicia smiled. "It won't be long."
Their bodies were already drunk from the music; their minds would follow soon if they continued this way, although neither objected to it.
A sharp tone of her voice suddenly interrupted everything. "John," she said and hesitantly stopped moving.
"What?" He moved his head to look at her and found her staring at something behind him. He quickly turned around and noticed Romeo entering the restaurant. They were searching for someone, and it took no longer than half-a-second for John and Elizabeth to know who was on their 'wanted list'.
"Would be a good idea to leave about now," he said, and with his arm hooked around Elizabeth's waist, they hurried towards the back entrance.
They met Gloria on the way. "You haven't seen us," he asked of her.
Glancing behind them, Gloria quickly understood. "Go," she told him.
John smiled and kissed her cheek. "Thanks," he said.
When they disappeared behind the red curtain next to the bar that led to the back entrance, Gloria approached the new 'guests', accompanied with a few of her colleagues. They greeted the men. It wouldn't be the first time John Sheppard needed some extra minutes to make his escape and the staff at this restaurant always helped him out. Friends, after all.
In the loud night, both made their way down the street with a fast pace. It had rained earlier, making the pavement wet and tricky at times. Taking a left turn, they stopped in their tracks when they saw a jeep with some of Romeo's gang. Quickly jumping back behind the corner, they carefully gave a quick look at the situation before them.
"Too many?" she asked.
"Yeah. Let's hope they buy Gloria's story."
Two pair of hands suddenly grabbed hold of John and Elizabeth. In the pitch darkness and unidentifiable noises, a white cloth quickly covered their mouths. The struggle and the sudden need for air made them inhale and then drift into unconsciousness.
This time it hadn't been the hard wood beneath her or the cold stone wall behind her. This time it was the leather exterior on which she sat, and a warmer, almost cushion-like surface where her head lay with a soft ticking noise beneath it.
Opening her eyes, Elizabeth saw the moving jungle trees slightly blocked by someone's breathing chest where her head had been. Moaning softly, she moved her head away and attempted to sit up straight. Two men in the front seat and two in the seats behind Elizabeth's told her what had happened. Next to her, John was sleeping. The bound hands gave her less freedom to move, not to mention the two guns behind her as well. Elizabeth's skin shivered violently when the cold wind hit her body with the thin dress giving scarce warmth. Having no other choice, she moved in closer to John to ease her body's need for some heat.
The next time she looked at his face, John's eyes were already opening. He came to much quicker this time and wasted no time in letting out a few profanities. The lack of space forced him to look at Elizabeth next to him. "You alright?" he asked.
"Sort of."
One of the men in the front turned around to look at the prisoners. "You could have given me a bloody coat, you know!" Elizabeth told him.
The man laughed with a smile that showed a couple of golden teeth and then turned around. He then exchanged a few words with the driver which resulted in repeated laughter.
"I didn't know my request was that funny," she muttered.
"Apparently you resembled a porcupine with the way your body reacted to the cold," John told her.
"Funny," Elizabeth spoke sarcastically.
Rubbing his eyes with the back of tied palms, John sighed. "Getting warm enough?" he asked her.
"Yeah, sorry, this dress is not exactly freezing-wind-proof," she replied.
"Right." He groaned and glanced behind him. "Hi," he said and looked ahead again. "Sneaky bastards," he then added.
"I assume they didn't buy Gloria's story," she said.
John only lifted his eyebrow tiredly to this.
The ride didn't end at the familiar farm but a small camp site. Apparently the men were unfamiliar with good manners as they pushed Elizabeth out of the jeep, forcing her to fall on John. "Hey, watch it!" she spat at them. Her annoyance was only met with laughter from them.
Walking on the dirt, Elizabeth's feet became engulfed in it, as the sandals she wore were not exactly suited for this place. They passed by the large fire and the heat forced Elizabeth to stop next to it, but she was rudely pushed forward by the men. They were led to a green tent and shoved inside, where the entrance was soon closed and two shadows showed the presence of two guards standing before the entrance. "No damn manners whatsoever," Elizabeth said and cursed.
"Don't let it surprise you," he told her.
"This is your friend Romeo's doing again?"
"Abducting people in the town is not really his style, but then again, times change."
A short time later, it was Juliana who came inside the tent. "At least they handled you right," she said as she eyed the 'guests'.
"It's not without complaints," Elizabeth responded to this.
With a cold expression, Juliana threw one last look their way before quickly exiting the tent. It was only several minutes later that she returned with clean clothes and a pair of boots in her hands. "Here." She threw them at Elizabeth who barely managed to catch them with her bound hands. "You'll freeze to death otherwise in that."
"Any chance of untying me?" Elizabeth called after the woman who was about to leave.
Rolling her eyes, Juliana pulled out a sharp knife which she used to cut the thick rope around Elizabeth's wrists with ease. She then turned to John to cut him free but then paused. She watched the man for a while with her trademark cold look for the evening before shaking her head. She cut the rope and then left them alone.
Rubbing her wrists, Elizabeth watched the entrance. "She doesn't seem to like you very much."
"She does, she probably just woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." When he turned around, he noticed Elizabeth looking at him expectantly. "What?"
"You don't really think I'll provide you with a free peep-show here, do you?"
John smirked and spun around once more. They waited in the tent with the small lantern and two short beds for a while.
"Any magical escape plan this time?" she asked while folding her dress. The pants, shirt, boots and jacket that were given to her by Juliana would have almost given the impression of kindness if the malicious intentions behind it weren't known.
"Let's see…" John slowly poked his head through the tent's entrance. The moment he did so, two end points of two guns greeted him two inches away from his eyes. Pulling his head in, he sighed and nodded slowly. "Not really," he said.
Elizabeth sat down on the bed. "We wait then." The other moving shadows around the tent gave less hope.
"Yeah." John sat down on the other bed. "Guess they want those tapestries pretty badly. How much is their real price anyway?"
"Around 600,000 U.S. dollars… on the black market."
Now John whistled to that. "That's a lot."
"Yes, it is." Elizabeth rubbed her hands slowly as she spoke. "Went to the police before to report theft of my equipment… didn't do much."
"They're not very efficient around here," he said.
"If I had known that, I wouldn't have bothered waiting for two hours at the station before they finally got around to taking my report," Elizabeth replied.
They were paid another visit by Juliana who brought two plates of hot food for them.
"You're bringing them yourself? Did Romeo demote you?" he joked.
Her cold expression unchanged, Juliana walked up to him and slapped him across the face too hard. "Eat and rest. We leave early tomorrow," she said and quickly walked out.
"I forgot she never took a good tease lightly."
"Or her temper is even shorter than Romeo's," Elizabeth responded. "Hurt much?"
"Somewhat." John touched his cheek. "Ow. But wouldn't be the first time I get slapped on the face either."
Elizabeth shook her head and then picked up her plate of food.
