Chapter 5

A/N-Thanks for all the reviews! I really appreciate it. This chapter is where it gets really AU. It's also not beta'd, she is away for the weekend, so any mistakes are mine.

Sam walked into the entrance of the mine with a few royal guards. Watching her friends and teammates, she felt a pang of guilt. Especially for the Colonel. It was her job to be his second set of eyes, and she let him down. Mustering up some courage, she opened her mouth. "Hi, sir. Daniel, Teal'c."

The men looked at Sam for a minute before they spoke. She was wearing a long royal gown, purple with white lace and silver embroidery. "Sam!" Daniel seemed surprised to see her.

"Carter." Jack said flatly.

Teal'c was the only one who seemed relieved to see her "It is good to see you well, Captain Carter."

"What happened?" Daniel asked as he wiped his forehead with his sleeve.

"I was right…Pyrinia isn't a Goa'uld." She replied, matter of factly.

"What's with the dress?" Jack asked, giving her a quick once over.

"Oh, this, it's a royal gown." She swished the skirt back and forth a bit. "They have a sarcophagus. The prince put me in it and saved my life because he has uh, an affection for me." She cocked her head and raised her eyebrows in a 'when in Rome' type gesture.

"An affection?" Jack asked, getting annoyed.

"Yes, sir. Actually, he thinks I'm his destiny, the whole saving his life thing. I guess he was grateful after all."

"Well, good job. Now how about getting those goons to unlock us and get us the heck out of here, Captain?"

"Oh. Uh, not yet, Colonel." It sounded as if Sam was giving the orders now.

Jack's annoyance was growing more evident in his voice. "I'm sorry? What? Do I need to order you to do it?"

"Well, sir, it's kind of a sensitive situation. Pyrinia hasn't exactly let you go yet. But I'm working on it. I'm trying to gain her trust." All three men just stared blankly at Sam. "Yeah, I know. This is really…"

"Weird?"

"Sir, I just wanted to let you all know I was okay. I will talk to Pyrinia tonight at dinner."

"You get dinner?" Daniel asked, his blue eyes showing his hunger.

"Um, some feast in my honor." Sam looked down; she almost didn't want to tell them.

"Feast? There is a feast?" Sam's commanding officer would have given her a good dressing down if there weren't guards with her. But the thought of his still smarting knee changed his mind.

"Sir, just trust me, okay? I just, I need more time." Sam looked at her CO as she turned and left with her escorts.

"Glad to see you're okay!!" Jack shouted after her. "Just wait till she gets back to the SGC." He muttered, and again, went back to his never ending pounding.

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There was a long marble table set up off to the side of the stairs in the throne room. Sam was seated alone by a guard while large trays of different foods were laid out before her. "Just me?" Sam asked no one in particular.

Pyrinia and Shaylon walked in, and again he was assisting his mother. Sam stood up out of respect for the ruler, even though her and her son's motives seemed a bit deceptive. "Hello, I'm Cap…I'm Samantha Carter."

No sound came from Pyrinia but a short "hmm." She began to pick at some food as Shaylon spoke. "My mother is pleased that you are so honored to dine in the presence of her greatness."

"Exactly." Sam was at a loss as to what else to say.

"If you are lucky, she will tell you the story of how she became the God slayer." Shaylon stated, as a hint to Sam.

"I killed the Goa'uld who ruled here." Pyrinia said as she continued to eat. Not once did she look at Sam.

"How long ago was that?"

"Seven hundred years."

Sam was shocked. "Seven hundred years? But you're a…of course. The sarcophagus. I had no idea it could sustain human life so long. Does that mean you are…?" She looked at Shaylon.

"No Samantha. I am very young by comparison. I have not needed it to extend my life." Shaylon replied.

"So the people continue to worship your mother because she has lived so long." Sam said, more of a question than a statement.

Shaylon seemed to get irritated at Sam's comments. "They worship her because she liberated them from the evil God."

"Then why do you keep them working in the mines?" Sam didn't understand where this was going.

"So the other distant evil Gods won't come." Shaylon replied, trying to get Sam to back off a bit.

Sam thought for a moment. "So this is a masquerade. You're sending naquada through the Stargate because that's what the Goa'uld used to do. Well, no wonder you're paranoid about strangers. You're afraid of being found out."

Pyrinia glared up at Sam angrily. She rose from her seat and threw her piece of food down. "How dare you come to my kingdom and disrupt what has gone on for hundreds of years! We are safe from the Goa'uld. You have endangered us!" Pyrinia motioned for a guard. "Kill the strangers in the mine, and then kill her!"

"What? No!" Sam cried. She lurched forward and reached for a carving knife that was on the table by the platters as Shaylon jumped up and tried to deflate the confrontation. Sam took the opportunity to grab him and place the knife by his jugular. "You let us go now, or I kill him."

Several guards rushed into the throne room, awaiting orders from their Queen. Pyrinia stood her ground and raised her hand for the guards to hold their positions. "Samantha, you cannot win here. For if you die, then how can you even attempt to save your friends?"

"You can't kill all of us, my superiors will order a search team, and when they come you can be sure your little charade will be found out. Move." Sam pushed Shaylon from behind towards the exit. "We are going to free my friends, and then I will let him go."

"Please Samantha, I would hate to see you injured, we can reach an agreement." Shaylon tried to reason with her as Sam turned them around to back out of the doorway.

"No." The captain could not see the Jaffa that quietly came from behind, a staff weapon pointed at her back.

Pyrinia looked over Sam's shoulder at the guard. She had to keep her distracted, so her voice suddenly became desperate. "I will let them go….just let my son go, please."

Shaylon pretended to stumble, throwing the two off balance. He swung around quickly and pushed Sam away. "Kill her!" Pyrinia shouted, and the Jaffa fired. Sam turned to see the flash of the weapon.

"Oh no." the words barely made it out of her mouth as she was hit in the lower abdomen. Captain Carter's world turned black as she fell to the floor.