Chapter Twelve
White. Everywhere there was an endless white. This void lacked more than just boundaries, it also lacked substance. It was almost as if nothing existed at all, and the void was the only thing that took residence in the great emptiness. There wasn't anyway else to describe it, and all it did was leave the Goa'uld queen confused as she awakened.
Curled upon the floor, Egeria slowly gained a sense of what was around her as her mind stumbled its way into awareness. For a moment she remained there, taking in the emptiness. When she realized what surrounded her was real, and not some delusion, then she began to pull herself off of the floor as she wondered what was going on.
Taking a shaky step forward, the Goa'uld queen recalled what had brought her here. She had been torturing the captive Sekhmet, and getting very little results. That was when the mysterious pain had threatened her and she had stumbled her way back to her quarters with the intention of using the golden sarcophagus to heal. Everything had gone black, before she had wound up here.
Reminding herself of the pain caused her to realize something; it was gone. The numbing pain that had washed over her time and again was completely free from her body. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time she had felt so good. There was an airy quality to her limbs that she had never felt before, and she wondered what could have caused it.
Suddenly a grim thought made its way into her mind. Could the pain that she had been enduring, whatever its cause was, forced her body to fail? It was something that she had been ignoring as best as she could for some time, believing it to be nothing more than an unnecessary distraction as she marched towards her goal of Ra's defeat. What if she had been wrong though and the pain stemmed from something far more serious? A very disconcerting feeling came over Egeria as she was forced to admit that she might be dead.
Something deep within her wasn't ready to so easily accept her own demise. Such a feeling didn't come merely from her instinct to survive, but from something else as well. What she saw didn't seem to be any sort of afterlife.
The Goa'uld race was very conflicted when it came to an afterlife they could share in once they were long dead. Part of that conflict arose in their own deity personas, letting the eternal paradise that they promised to faithful worshipers to be mixed in with their own beliefs. Despite not having a resolute idea of what awaited a Goa'uld past their demise, Egeria felt sure that what surrounded her wasn't it.
If she was not dead, however, where could she be? As far as she knew there wasn't any way for her to be taken from her Ha'tak vessel, although having landed on Karmarik she couldn't imagine anyone who might want to take her. But if she was still aboard her Ha'tak, then surely something else was occurring to have brought her here.
Staring into the void around her Egeria shouted into the blankness, hoping that another soul might be around to hear her call out. The only reply that came was a fading echo as the Goa'uld queen's words were thrown back at her.
While she didn't understand what was going on around her, there was something that Egeria realized. Standing here in puzzlement wasn't going to help her gain any answers. Giving a sigh at this realization, the goddess arbitrarily picked a direction and began walking.
For several hours she aimlessly trudged through the blankness. At least, it seemed like hours. Lost in such a place, even time seemed to be without purpose. There was no proper way to gauge what was going on, nor for how long. Still, she pressed on. Not so much because she needed to, but more because she couldn't think of anything else to do.
After a short time passed, the Goa'uld brain of Egeria's grew frustrated at the situation she was in. Beyond this realm lay her life where so much needed to be accomplished. If there was anything she hated it was having to delay things. Especially now, with her being fully involved in the delicate plans to bring down Ra. Tightening her fists, she let out a scream of frustration as there appeared to be no exit from the purgatory she had stumbled into. Just then, fate decided to step in as something began to take shape in the distance.
Quickening her pace, Egeria nearly ran to the hazy form. After spending so much time with only a blank nothingness to stare at, then this change was very welcome indeed. Not only did this form give her something else to look at, but she also hoped it could provide her with an escape back to where she had come.
On approach the form began to grow more and more defined. Colors began to separate from the jumbled mass they had seemed from a distance, and features began to shape an otherwise blob. Nearly upon the form, Egeria slowed as she worked to regain her spent breath.
Purple was the first color to spring from this form, as it covered most of what Egeria saw. There was also a stone gray that the purple rested on, and it didn't take much for the Goa'uld to realize that a person sat before her.
"Hello?" Egeria spoke as she approached the person. From where she stood it was impossible for her to tell what lay underneath the purple cloak, but the outline of a figure had been obvious to her even some feet away. At first the Goa'uld queen thought the figure might be nothing more than a statue, but that was quickly dismissed as upon further inspection she noticed the figure moved slightly taking in breath.
As no response came from her word, Egeria began to circle the figure. Aside from the gentle movement, there was no other sign that that this person was indeed alive. When she had stepped around the stone bench she felt the need to repeat her greeting as a few red stands peeking out from under the cloak came into view.
There was a silent moment as she stood there staring at the figure. For a second Egeria began to reconsider that the figure was indeed alive, until suddenly it said "Hello, Egeria," in a calm tone.
When the figure spoke her name, an icy chill ran down Egeria's spine. The voice behind this pair of words sounded so familiar, yet so alien all at once. Bubbling inside of her was curiosity over what was going on. Moments ago she had wondered only where she was and why, but now she had something else to focus on. She needed to know who this person was, and how they knew her name. No longer able to restrain herself, she stepped forward and pulled the figure's hood down. What was revealed made her stumble back.
Before her was a woman. Not just any woman, it was her. Confusion swam through her mind she wondered how she could both be standing here in shock as well as sitting calmly on the stone bench. This woman may have looked like her, but as Egeria tried to regain her composure she knew that it wasn't her. "Who are you?" she asked the imposter in shaky tone.
A weak smile came to the woman's face, though it was hardly a happy gesture. "My name is Kaylea," she said with an eerie calm. For a moment Egeria didn't understand what was going on, as this revelation about the woman's name did nothing to clear up her confusion over the matter. Sensing this, Kaylea turned to face Egeria as she added, "I'm your host, Egeria."
Allowing this statement to wash over her, the Goa'uld Egeria couldn't help but have her shock turn into even more confusion. If this Kaylea was indeed her host, then that would explain her appearance. Still, this answer did little to clear up so many other confusing things that buzzed around her mind. Other than her unanswered questions there was something else on Egeria's mind. She knew that this woman had to be lying to her, and she was fully prepared to tell her as much.
"You can't be," came Egeria's words in a hostile tone. That tone softened some as her next words were spoken, "because nothing of the host survives."
Returning to Kaylea's face was the odd smile that she had worn upon revealing her name. Looking upon the Goa'uld standing before her she merely said "Come on, Egeria. There's no one else here other than you and I, so there's no need to for you to keep up that charade." It wasn't a charade though, and Kaylea picked up on the fact almost immediately. Realizing this, she asked "You really believe that don't you?" with honest curiosity.
Shaking away all other feelings and concerns, Egeria stood firmly before Kaylea. "Nothing of the host survives," she repeated, this time saying it in as forceful and as convincing of a manner as she could have. This fact about hosts was something that all Goa'uld knew from the moment they spawned, and she wasn't about to let this woman disgrace her beliefs.
When Egeria repeated this statement, all Kaylea could do was give a defeated sigh. "How powerful could the Goa'uld really appear if everyone knew they couldn't even overcome their own hosts?" she muttered as she realized that the true power of the Goa'uld race lay only in their own egos.
Kaylea had muttered this so softly, that Egeria had barely been able to hear it. What she had heard though was enough to enrage her. Stepping forward, she grabbed the woman and pulled her forward by her cloak. Searching the woman's eyes, Egeria decided to forgo the question of this woman's identity for another one. "Where are we?" was the Goa'uld's forceful question.
At first, Kaylea didn't know how to take this question. The answer was an obvious one; or at least obvious to her. Staring back at Egeria came the realization of how little the goddess knew about what was going on. "This place is your mind, Egeria. Or rather, the place where your mind and my own blend with each other," was her toneless reply.
For Egeria, this came as nothing more than another insult. Whoever Kaylea really was, she was someone that wasn't helpful in the least. This latest answer caused frustration to boil inside of Egeria as she spit out "Nothing of the host…"
Above her the water broke and she gasped in a breath of air, letting her lungs fill themselves as she bobbed on the shimmering surface. Looking around, there was a moment where she wondered where he had gone, until suddenly there was an explosion of water before her as he too surfaced.
Once this image faded away, Egeria couldn't help but to stand there confused in mid-sentence. She didn't understand what had just happened, or why. The only response that she could come up with was a few blinks as she stood motionless, holding onto Kaylea's cloak.
Another smile came to Kaylea's face, although this time there was a much different feeling behind that smile. "Ratula Lake," she happily muttered to herself. "That was a great afternoon that Tobyn and I spent there."
Loosening her grip on the woman, Egeria pulled herself back into what was going on and she found herself staring directly at Kaylea. "Was that?" came a few questioning words.
Even though the Goa'uld hadn't finished her question, it was still something that Kaylea knew the answer to right away. "Yes, that was one of my memories." With this response Egeria focused completely on her host as Kaylea added, "Ratula's a lake not too far from my village. At least, it used to be. Tobyn and I would visit it from time to time, so that we could be alone."
Slowly Egeria started to believe that Kaylea may have told her some truth, and that this woman was indeed her host's persona. Removing her hands from Kaylea, the Goa'uld queen eased herself down onto the stone bench as everything that was going on began to wash over her.
If Kaylea really was her host, then that would jar so many of her own personal beliefs. While she could not speak for any other Goa'uld, she herself had believed any trace of her host had been eradicated upon seizing control. It was in this first act that she had asserted her own power, a power that she still drew strength from. Learning this about her host, and indeed herself, caused Egeria to begin doubting some of her core beliefs.
While Egeria was lost in thought, Kaylea took the opportunity to let her own mind wander. Before her mind wandered too far, there was a shuffling sound next to her as Egeria shifted where she sat. This simple noise proved to be enough to draw Kaylea's attention onto the Goa'uld, and the sense she was conveying.
Sitting next to the goddess, there was a moment where nothing but stillness graced the pair. For awhile this silence sufficed for each woman, until Kaylea decided to comment; as much for Egeria's sake as for her own. "At least it's peaceful here."
Something inside of Egeria's twisted Goa'uld psyche snapped at this, though for what reason not even she could be sure of. What she was suddenly sure of was that there was no way she could now be trapped inside of her own mind. It was something that just didn't make sense to her. No, what made far more sense was that the woman next to her was concealing some truth about what was going on.
Rage boiled inside of Egeria the longer she thought about the circumstances she found herself in. Finally, when she couldn't take things any longer, she abruptly rose from the stone bench and demanded "Tell me what is really going on here!" in a fiery tone.
Amazement came to Kaylea as she heard this demand. This amazement came from the fact that despite her honesty, the Goa'uld continued in refusal to believe her. "Think about it Egeria, what were you doing right before you arrived here?" Kaylea asked in a withdrawn tone.
Taking in a breath, the Goa'uld queen thought over the moments leading up to her awakening in this place. "I was in my quarters," she recounted. "There was a mysterious pain that coursed through my body, and I was about to use my sarcophagus to heal. The next moment I found myself here." After a pause, Egeria abruptly added, "I'm not dead though," in case that was the cause that Kaylea was about to suggest.
"No, you're not dead," was the host's reply. At this statement the anger set upon Egeria's face turned into confusion as she wondered what else could possibly have happened to her. For some reason, Kaylea felt obligated to tell her. "The pain became too much for you, Egeria. Instead of allowing you to ignore it and let it worsen, your body kicked in and you slipped into a coma. Right now, you're still lying next to your sarcophagus unconscious, as your instinctual Goa'uld abilities work to heal your body."
Although it was possible, this explanation was one that Egeria had never heard happening before. Of course, she had never heard about any Goa'uld suffering from such debilitating pain before either. Something came to her as she thought about the pain. If Kaylea knew where she was and what had forced her here, then maybe she knew what had caused the pain that had bothered her so much. It was something that she felt that she had to ask of the woman, despite any reservations she might have.
This latest question from the Goa'uld queen nearly caused Kaylea to laugh. Not because she found the question itself funny, but rather the utter lack of knowledge that was held by this so-called goddess. Instead of answering the question flat out, she decided to ask the Goa'uld a question of her own. "Do you want to know what amazes me about your race, Egeria?" she asked as she forced all of her emotions away.
Egeria would have rather had the woman just answer the question simply so that they could both move on, but if Kaylea was going to play such a game with answers, then Egeria felt a need to indulge her, if only for the sake of putting the matter behind them. With a slight tilt of her head she silently acknowledged her curiosity.
Moistening her lips with her tongue, Kaylea said "What amazes me is the fact of how Goa'uld seldom stop to consider the consequences of their actions. As a race, you trudge your way through the galaxy conquering and leeching off other races, without stopping to think how such actions could affect your own."
"That is our right as superior beings!" came a forceful response from the Goa'uld queen. It was something that had been automatic, as Egeria couldn't tolerate such insolent words to be said about her kind.
"Superior beings?" The question hung in the air as Kaylea waited for something further to be said by Egeria. When nothing came, she merely added "And by what observation do you make such a judgment?"
Tightening her first, rage threatened to boil inside of Egeria anew as she felt further insulted by the Tau'ri before her. "Our power, our technology, our very knowledge about the universe overwhelms anything that other races only dream of! That is the true measure of our greatness," she replied with a smug look.
This show did nothing to impress Kaylea. Instead, it merely served to show how wasted arrogance was upon the Goa'uld race. "If your technology, your knowledge, is so great," Kaylea began in a tone much more flat than what Egeria expected, "Then why do you stand here before me, wounded, because of a misuse of such technology?"
Kaylea's question was far from clear to the Goa'uld queen as she gave it some thought. She wasn't about to admit how vague she believed the question to be, because in doing so would only help to strengthen the woman's argument about how ignorant the Goa'uld truly were. Still, despite her best efforts, signs of confusion made its way upon her face.
When she saw this sign, it wasn't something that Kaylea reveled in. She took no joy in any part of this conversation. Instead of insulting Egeria any further, she resigned to the fact that she needed to do as much as possible to help the Goa'uld to understand what was going on.
"The sarcophagus," came Kaylea's words in a hushed whisper. Seeing that this clue was of no use to Egeria, she further added, "Sure it heals you, but at what cost? Did you ever stop to consider what else was happening to your body each time you rested in it?"
Considering the questions posed by Kaylea, Egeria had to admit that none of what the woman asked had been concerns that she had given much thought towards. "Do you mean that…" started the Goa'uld as she began to connect the dots in her mind.
"The sarcophagus caused the pain that brought you here," flatly replied Kaylea.
Even though it was something that Egeria had never considered, it still seemed absurd. A Goa'uld's sarcophagus was designed to heal a Goa'uld and its host, not cause harm. Especially not harm in such a severe degree as she had experienced. No, this was nothing more than another lie on Kaylea's part to distract her while who knew what was going on. Still, there was a part of her that was curious about the possibility. Struggling with herself, Egeria finally decided to relent to that curiosity as she pressed the woman for a further explanation.
A small sigh came from Kaylea as she drew in a breath and tried to make things clear. "The sarcophagus itself didn't cause the pain. No in fact, using it helped to keep such pain away from you." Pausing, Kaylea looked at the woman before her, hoping that her words were making sense to Egeria. "But it did more than just erase all the ailments you have endured since taking a host. It also broke you down, weakening you until you needed it to survive. Only from denying yourself use of it were you faced with the debilitating pain you've had to endure."
For so long the pain had ached throughout Egeria's being, and the whole while she had been wondering its source. To consider that the pain stemmed from one of the Goa'uld's most revered technologies, and that the pain's onset was caused by her own denial of such technology, was a sobering truth. If the sarcophagus had been to blame, then she couldn't help but to wonder what other wonders of the Goa'uld had such inherent flaws.
Retracing the days she had suffered from the aching pain, Egeria tried to determine when exactly it had began. Focusing, she narrowed the window to a matter of days. Those days were the same ones where she had started using the velvet adorned bed to rest upon instead of the golden healing device. At this realization then what Kaylea had explained to her was at least believable.
Those weeks ago when she had so abruptly stopped using the sarcophagus, there hadn't been the time to consider any long term effects from such an action. Gnawing at the back of her mind had been a continued desire to return to the device and leave her bed to collect dust, but that desire had been something that Egeria had ignored even more than the pain she had suffered. Only now did she realize that the desire was her own self preservation that was trying to assert itself. In the moment though, she had only known it to be one side of an argument that raged in her mind.
Something suddenly came to Egeria as she sat there and considered everything. If one side of the argument had been the voice of her self preservation, then what had been the cause for the other? It was a curiosity that she voiced aloud, though she didn't immediately realize that she had spoken at all.
Egeria's concern was something that Kaylea understood. "I was that voice," she meekly said to the Goa'uld before her. "It was my voice that begged you to not use the sarcophagus any longer."
Facing Kaylea as she said this, the Goa'uld queen couldn't help but to stare in puzzlement over the woman's words. "What do you mean?" was all Egeria could ask as she hoped for a clearer explanation as to what the Tau'ri had said.
Glancing at Egeria, an unsettling feeling came over Kaylea as she couldn't help but to rise off of the stone bench. Folding her arms against her chest, she began to pace as she spoke. "When you first stopped using the sarcophagus, there was a voice inside of your mind that pulled you away from it. That voice was my own, Egeria. After so many years of sitting in watch I felt I couldn't be silent any longer."
"How did you manage such a thing?" asked Egeria with incredulous eyes. "And why?"
"The how isn't really important," was Kaylea's reply as she gave a slight sigh, "but it did take a lot out of me to do so. The why, now that is what is important."
Letting her voice fall silent she turned to face the Goa'uld that had taken her as a host. Pain was reflected in her eyes as she continued on.
"Every time you stepped into that thing, it did more than heal your body. The pain that you have endured gave you a taste of the device's true nature. That nature was something that attacked me, Egeria. It pulled at my mind, at my soul, threatening to take away the very essence of me." For a second Kaylea's attitude changed, and she appeared very angry as she said this to Egeria. Then that attitude changed abruptly once more as she whispered, "I couldn't let that happen anymore," in a defiant tone.
Although Egeria couldn't imagine what Kaylea had gone through as a result of the sarcophagus, it wasn't something that she felt could be as dire as what the Tau'ri had described. "A sarcophagus is designed to not only heal a Goa'uld, but also the host that Goa'uld has taken," she reaffirmed.
"The host's body maybe, but not the mind."
Egeria was about to claim that statement to be wrong as well, but suddenly something held her back. Until a few moments ago she hadn't even believed that the host's mind stayed intact after a Goa'uld seized control, so how could she know what the effects of Goa'uld technology were on that mind?
"Everything in the universe has a price, Egeria. That's a lesson even the Goa'uld should know." The tone behind Kaylea's voice was almost bitter as she spoke. "A sarcophagus doesn't just erase all of your ailments without a cost. That cost though, is something that a Goa'uld parasite hardly has to bear."
Unsure of how to respond, the Goa'uld queen sat there and stared at her host as Kaylea froze in place, letting her emotions wash over her. Neither woman spoke in the ensuing moments, creating a silent void between them.
Somewhere deep inside of Egeria came a few words, though they were so out of character that she didn't know where they had come from. Even as she spoke them, she was still dazed as to why they left her lips. "I'm sorry, Kaylea," were her soft spoken words, "I had no idea that using the sarcophagus wielded such results."
"You're sorry?" Clearly Egeria wasn't the only one taken aback by her apology, as shock came to Kaylea's face upon hearing these words. Instead of growing angry at the Goa'uld for what she had done to her, Kaylea merely stared at Egeria until she was certain the words were genuine. Once the honesty of the sentiment was reaffirmed, then Kaylea walked over to the stone bench and slumped next to Egeria as she muttered, "It's not the first thing that you've taken from me."
This response was hardly what Egeria had expected, and its meaning was something she couldn't help but to wonder about. Glancing over at the dejected woman beside her, she was about to ask Kaylea exactly what she meant, until suddenly another image flashed in her mind.
He stopped chopping wood and wiped some sweat off of his forehead…
Startled, the Goa'uld queen focused on this image as she tried to understand its purpose. Her mind knew that it hadn't been shown something at random, but why this man had appeared to her remained a mystery. Determined to figure this out, she tried to force the image to be clearer. When it did, and she was given a better view of the man's face, she felt all the more confused. "Arbrol't?" she blurted, wondering how the Jaffa fit into what was going on.
This name sparked something within Kaylea, as she was suddenly pulled from her own thoughts by it. Turning until she faced the Goa'uld queen, she curiously stared at her, hoping that Egeria would say something further about the soldier.
"What does Arbrol't have to do with any of this?" demanded Egeria as she held her arms out to encompass the surrounding void.
Sighing, all Kaylea chose to respond with was, "His name isn't Arbrol't."
Here was another statement that Egeria felt had to be a lie. She knew the man was her Jaffa soldier, the resemblance was too striking to not be him. Still, there was something behind Kaylea's words that forced Egeria to reconsider her position. Thinking back on their conversation thus far, another name sprung to her mind. "Tobyn?" was her whispered response.
At the mention of the man's name, there was a smile on Kaylea's face as she nodded. "Though you are right, Egeria. My Tobyn and your Jaffa soldier do look very similar. So similar in fact, that I almost thought I had seen an illusion back on Ventarea."
From Kaylea's words, Egeria worked backwards in her mind until her memories left her back to the lush home world. In the final moments before Ven'ar had led the most elite warriors away from greeting her, Arbrol't had caught her eye. She remembered that he had seemed familiar somehow, and that familiarity had drawn her to him as she watched her Jaffa exit. It was another mystery she had only been able to wonder about until now.
Worry crept into the goddess' form as she realized something. If Kaylea had the power to pull her away from using the sarcophagus and make her feel as though she had known Arbrol't so intimately, then what else could she do? Was it possible that throughout everything it was in fact this Tau'ri woman, and not her Goa'uld self, that had remained in control? Her fierce ego brushed such a notion quickly away, yet she knew there could be no harm in pressing Kaylea further in an attempt to understand what was really going on.
"What happened to Tobyn?" the Goa'uld asked in a concerned tone designed to mask her true intent.
Throughout the conversation Kaylea had remained calm and withdrawn. Inside of her though, something snapped at Egeria's question. A wave of fury crashed along the banks of her skull as she tightened her fists. "Don't you remember?" Despite the fact that her anger was apparent, this question made it quite clear as to how much she was still holding back.
"No," was Egeria's only reply as she wanted to see just where the woman was going.
There was a moment where Kaylea felt herself fill with anger towards Egeria, before finally she decided to let it go. Considering the fact that no matter what she did wouldn't change a thing, she merely took in a relaxing breath. Once her emotions had subsided, she began telling Egeria of how all of this had begun.
"It was a beautiful day," she started.
The moment she stepped outside her home she could feel her troubles melt away as the golden sun above her beamed down and warmed her body.
"I was needed in the village for a meeting. Other than that, there was nothing unusual. I had left Tobyn sleeping in bed, wishing I could stay with him, but knowing that he would be back in my arms soon enough."
Kaylea continued recounting the day's events to Egeria as the Goa'uld listened intently. She spoke of the project that she was working on, and the children she had run into at the market's outskirts. There was even mention of a kindly old merchant that Kaylea had known all of her life. After speaking about Kamorn though, she suddenly grew quiet as she withdrew into herself. The following moments were ones that she had no desire to relive.
Just because Kaylea stopped in her retelling, didn't ease the Goa'uld's curiosity about what had occurred. In fact, she became all the more enticed by this pause. "Then what happened?" she pressed, eager to hear more.
Somewhere behind her a loud noise erupted and she couldn't help but to turn back and look on. The noise sounded almost unholy and couldn't quite be taken as simple thunder. Then before she realized it, the sky grew suddenly dark and she was about to accept her friend's excuse, until a bolt of lightning struck the ground. Looking on though she realized that it was not lightning at all, and suddenly her heart filled with confusion and terror.
Quickly the other villagers began to take notice of what was going on. They had all seen lightning, and understood the makings of a storm as best as one could. Whatever knowledge they might have lacked, they knew enough to know that what they saw before them wasn't a storm at all.
Another bolt struck the ground, this time narrowly missing a horse stable just outside of the village. Even though it was a miss, it was still enough to send a ripple of panic through the on looking crowd.
Kaylea dropped the kavla in her hand as she tried to understand what was going on. She turned to face her friend, just in time to see another bolt sent hurtling into the village windmill some distance behind him. Without prejudice it blasted the stone structure to rubble, turning each piece into a fireball that set nearby houses ablaze.
None of those present felt safe to hesitate any longer as the alien threat grew nearer. Abandoning his stand, Kamorn merely grasped Kaylea's hand for luck before rushing to the battered mill remnants in a frantic search for his wife.
As her friend disappeared into the distance, all Kaylea could do was stand there feeling helpless. She wanted to help in his search for Reney, but as more bolts struck the ground then she grew ever more fearful of her own safety. When she turned to face where she had entered the market, her mouth dropped in disbelief.
Fires had sprouted from over half a dozen buildings. All around the tempest blazes she saw people scattering; some trying to put out the fires, while others merely tried to escape the heaven's wrath. It was a terrifying scene, and Kaylea knew of only one thing to do in that moment: she had to run.
Up ahead of her as the devastating bolts continued to rain down something more suddenly struck her mind. Cursing to herself she felt horrible for not thinking about her own beloved sooner. That guilt quickly washed away into fear as she watched several bolts strike the outlying houses.
Rushing past the screaming villagers, her mind became consumed by her goal of reaching her home. Had she not been so terrified by the chaos around her, then Kaylea would have made her own attempts to save the village. This morning though everyone left their normal courtesies behind them. Only one's own survival was at stake, and that was all anyone could grasp onto in the pandemonium that had so suddenly erupted.
Approaching the houses, Kaylea froze in horror as she took in the complete scene. Not a single house remained standing. Some were nothing more than burning husks, others a pile of mortar and thatch that had once held a purpose. Though she had no way to know the fate of her own house, she could already feel tears begin to well up behind her hazel eyes.
Searching frantically, even more frantically then what she had witnessed in the village, Kaylea waded through the debris until she made her way to her own house. Thankfully its bits had only collapsed on themselves, and were void of flickering flames. Muttering a prayer for this small miracle, she dove into the wreckage of her home in search of Tobyn.
Seconds dragged on for eternity as she tossed pieces of her life aside. There was an old kettle that Reney had given her as a wedding gift, and a few shards of a flower vase that had once belonged to her mother. Such material things quickly lost meaning to her as she dug and sifted for any sign of the man that meant so much to her.
Pushing past a pile of rubble there was a loud noise as her purple dress ripped. Not even her most prized article being destroyed was enough to deter her in searching for Tobyn. By this point she could feel wetness streaming down her face in desperation as she finally reached where her bedroom had once stood. Quickening in her pace, she tossed piece by piece aside, nearly giving up hope as she did so. Suddenly her hope was restored as something shifted under a piece of roofing in front of her.
"Tobyn!" she cried out as she rushed towards the piece. Grasping it firmly between her hands, she attempted to lift the piece off of him. At first, her attempt failed as it was too heavy for her. She wasn't about to be denied however, as suddenly an extra reserve of energy coursed through her veins and gave her the needed strength to lift the debris off of Tobyn and expose his body to her eyes.
Having finally found her beloved, all Kaylea could do was collapse next to him. Blood streamed from several wounds along his body, and for a moment she feared that she was too late. Slowly Tobyn forced his eyes open though, and gave Kaylea a new rush of hope as she cradled him.
"Kaylea?" he sputtered as fresh redness streaked its way out of his mouth.
"I'm here Tobyn," she gently said as she tried to keep herself from crying.
"What…..what…..happened?"
"Sh. It's okay Tobyn. Everything is okay."
"Kaylea?"
"Yes Tobyn?"
"I love you so much, Kaylea. You've been my everything, and I wouldn't have been able to live without you."
"You've made me the luckiest woman alive, Tobyn."
There was a smile on Tobyn's face at this comment. "I'm sorry," he whispered.
"Tobyn?" There was a frantic tone to Kaylea's shaky voice. "Tobyn?" she repeated, but he remained silent in her arms.
"You killed him!" came the sudden angered voice of Kaylea, ripping Egeria's thoughts away from the scene she was playing witness to.
Grief overwhelmed her as Kaylea knelt beside her dead lover. Taking his hand into hers, she bent down and kissed his lips. It wasn't the same though. It would never be the same again. "I love you," she whispered into his ear as she collapsed on top of him, sobbing.
Somewhere behind her there was movement as two soldiers approached her. Consumed in grief over Tobyn's death she was unaware of their existence, until each one grabbed an arm and began to pull her off the man's body.
Blind rage took over her then as she scrambled to be free of them. She had no idea who these iron clad warriors were, but she didn't care either. All she cared about was returning to Tobyn's side, so that she might die of grief alongside him.
The soldiers refused to let go of her though. Clawing at them she struggled to be free, but they were much stronger than her. Still, she gave every effort she had, and was nearly rewarded. Her struggle quickly ended however as the soldiers gave up in merely dragging her along, and she slipped into painful unconscious following a sound of electricity from just behind her.
"You killed him, and then you didn't even give me the chance to grieve!" repeated Kaylea in an even fiercer tone. "I….I didn't even get to bury him." The woman's emotions boiled anew as she collapsed into a grief no different than the one she had endured upon Tobyn's death.
Suddenly Egeria began to realize what was going on between her and her host, and she felt determined to say something to ease Kaylea's emotions. Knowing that something needed to be said she opened her mouth and was about to speak.
Instead of saying anything though, a rush of anger swept over Kaylea as she watched Egeria and knew that some ill conceived notion was about to come from her. "Get out!" she screamed, being now fully consumed in emotion. Following this she attacked Egeria, pushing the goddess down onto the ground and causing her to black out.
Moments later she opened her eyes again. Around her there was the glint of gold and jewels, replacing the disconcerting white void that had been her world a heartbeat ago. Picking herself up off the ground she looked at the golden healing device beside her.
Though it was still there, the numbing pain that had brought her here was weakened. Her own Goa'uld healing abilities were beginning to kick in, and rid herself of the pain that had plagued her for so long. Even though she knew she would soon be free of the pain, Egeria didn't feel able to relax in the slightest. After what she had just been through with Kaylea, then she knew that the real challenges still lay ahead.