Chapter 3 – Pink Curtains and Small Pox
'I just wanted to go bloody fishing.' Carson groaned.
'What, being held by a village full of Warrior women isn't as fun as fishing?' Rodney rolled his eyes, the binds on his hands itching. 'Is there any reason why they felt they had to tie these so tightly? My hands are turning blue.'
Rodney and Carson had been brought to the large hall Sheppard had seen from their cell, and it did look like some sort of meeting place where people were granted audiences with the leader. A large chair with charms draped over the handles sat in front of them, a guard on either side.
Rodney smiled weakly to the one on the left, she snarled at him and Rodney shuffled back slightly.
'Is this what it's like with you lot? Every time you go off world, you get into trouble and come back a bloodied mess.' Carson asked. 'This is Elizabeth's idea of revenge because of my asking her to come with me; I don't know what you Americans have against fishing but your down right cruel when asked to go!'
'Carson, I have nothing against fishing, sure a fish here or there over an hour or so – but the idea of camping and fending off armies of mosquitoes and hours of holding a rod in the hope that a salmonid will commit suicide, just doesn't appeal.' Rodney explained harshly, giving the Scot a glare from the corner of his eye.
'There's a lot more to fishing than that Rodney, it's about peace and quiet, and being one with nature – not kneeling in front of a two angry-looking women with my hands tied behind my back and awaiting a horrible fate.' Carson growled. 'When we get back to Atlantis, I will take you on a proper fishing trip-'
'There's no way-' Rodney shook his head.
'It's on the mainland; nothing can go wrong there for heavens sake.' Carson insisted.
'Nothing can go – if this trip has taught you anything Carson, it should have taught you to expect trouble were you least expect it.' Rodney snapped.
'Don't lecture me, Rodney, this was nothing more than an unfortunate fluke-' Carson started working against his own binds.
'Yeah, well, it's a fluke that chafes.' Rodney grunted. 'I think these are getting loose.' He smiled at Carson.
'Really?' Carson started working harder on his own.
The two men sat there, their bodies jerking in attempts to break their binds. The sight that made them pause was a pair of muscular legs, a bare belly, a spear and angry eyes staring down at them. The woman raised an eyebrow with menace.
'Sorry.' Rodney said quietly, Carson nodded as they both sat upright.
The doors behind them were flung wide, John and Ronan pushed in by three women. John was pushed to the floor by Rodney, and Ronan by Carson. Their hands were also bound.
Carson went to nod a solemn 'hello' to Ronan when he did a double take, his jaw hitting the floor. 'What in the hell did they do to you?!' He exclaimed.
'They gave him a bath.' John piped up from the other end.
Mckay leant forward to see a half naked Ronan with a curtain round his waist. 'Thank god.' He commented.
Ronan raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing.
A woman with long black hair and cool blue eyes emerged from a room to the side. She gracefully sat on the throne, leaning back, and taking in the scene before her with coldness. John noted the large silver necklace she wore around her neck – a torque with a single amber stone in the centre.
'I'm guessing that's the boss.' John whispered to Rodney.
'Well she is sitting in the throne.' Rodney informed him. John glanced at him; clearly the man had missed his point. They had been sent to the principle's office and were about to get a caning.
She sat and watched them for a few moments, allowing them to feel uncomfortable and frustrated. John wasn't a patient man at the best of times.
'I take it you're in charge?' He stated more than asked. She did not answer, but cocked her head. What, he was talking in a foreign language? He prepared himself to spurt the usual greeting. 'My name is Colonel John Sheppard. This is Doctor Rodney Mckay, Doctor Carson Beckett and Ronan Dex. We're peaceful explorers.' He paused, nodding. She still said nothing. John looked at his team mates who looked back in slight confusion. John clamped his mouth shut sharply and then spoke again. 'Look, I know you've gotta be pretty upset that we broke out of your little prison, but we didn't hurt anyone, and our only intent was to get back to the Gate and go home.'
She raised a hand, extending her index finger to stroke the bridge of her nose.
'Two shamans in one scout.' She stated. John paused. Firstly, he didn't know what a shaman was, and secondly, he recognised that voice as being the woman who had spoken to them in their cell. He glanced down at his team mates, both Rodney and Carson exchanging looks of realisation.
'I'm sorry, shamans?' John said slowly.
'Scout group?' Ronan echoed with a frown.
'Yes, two shamans.' Rodney declared. 'Except Doctor Beckett is a shaman of medicine, and I am a shaman of science.' He said proudly, as thought the latter were better.
'What do you mean by scout group?' Ronan demanded.
The woman turned to him, her eyes set on his face and not his manly torso. 'You were in our territory. The Dryads never venture so far unless they have a purpose – so what is yours?'
'Dryad?' Carson echoed. 'I'm sorry but, I think you've got us confused with someone else.'
'Isn't a dryad a nymph or something?' Mckay whispered to Sheppard.
'Like I know.' He whispered incredulously, then turned his attention back to the woman in the throne. 'Look, we're not who you think we are and we're sorry for the inconvenience, all we want to do is get out of here.' Sheppard insisted.
'How long must you keep up this charade?' She said wearily.
'What? Oh come on, you must have noticed a difference.' Rodney complained. 'I mean, our dress, our speech – and our technology are far different than anything this planet has to offer.'
The woman said nothing, but looked at them in turn. John knew that she did not believe them to be who she said they were, and yet, she still wanted to play games with them. By accusing them of being someone else, they tried desperately to prove their innocence, delving out information to her that told her more than she should know. These people obviously didn't like whoever these Dryads were, and so to be accused of being one of them was not a good thing – especially when they were so far from any kind of help. What this woman wanted was information and she was being damned sneaky about obtaining it. John narrowed his eyes at her.
'Your technology is of interest to us, Mckay. These large metal weapons in particular.' The guard next to her produced one of the MP5's. The woman took it in both hands and felt the weight of it as she stood. She approached the team. 'What does it do?' Her hands found the trigger as she felt the metal – the only problem being that she was holding it backwards.
'I wouldn't do that.' John warned.
'Why?' She asked, not taking her eyes from the weapon.
'Because you'll hurt yourself.' He snapped, seeing her finger flexing almost enough to fire a shot, and he was certain that the safety was off.
Her eyes glared at him. A woman from behind whacked him in the head with the butt of her spear and John fell forward.
'Hey!' Rodney complained, and then realising that he had complained out loud gave the woman a sheepish grin.
John could feel fresh blood trickle down the back of his neck. These women really did like to hit him. Okay, yes, he had been slightly condescending to a Warrior Queen, but she wasn't playing ball. John could feel the darkness creeping back, the wave of nausea…boy was fishing fun.
Carson tried to struggle his way over to the Colonel seeing the injury, but the woman from behind grabbed his shoulder and flung him back into the line. Carson glowered at her, his head turning swiftly to the leader.
'I don't know what's going on here but that was totally uncalled for, the man already has a serious head injury as it is because of you.' He growled. 'We're not here to cause trouble, all we wanted to do was go fishing.'
The woman raised an eyebrow.
'Well, some of us wanted to go fishing, the others were somewhat, forced to go. Some would even go as far as to say threatened – to go, so, really, I'm not supposed to be here.' Rodney nodded, thinking that there was a possibility that she would understand what he was talking about. Carson threw him a nasty look.
'Look, I'm a Doctor, let me treat him.' He began shuffling over to Sheppard again who was still on the floor with a steady flow of blood trickling onto the ground. The woman behind brought the spear over his head and shoved it under his throat, choking him.
'Carson!' Rodney exclaimed. Ronan fell back onto the ground and brought his legs around, taking the woman's out from underneath her. The spear clattered to the ground and Carson fell forward.
'Enough!' The woman yelled. 'Bring all of them to their knees!'
Before Ronan could really get into the swing of things, even in his curtain, a guard that had been watching the front door hit him in the face with her foot and hoisted him to his knees again. Rodney watched on, being the only one who hadn't been pushed to the floor. Carson was still coughing in the attempt to get oxygen back into his system, and with his hands behind his back, there was no way he could massage the large purple bruise forming on his throat. Sheppard had been easily brought to his knees; the only problem had been keeping him from falling to the ground again. Rodney noticed how pale he was, how his eyes were barely open – the Colonel had seen better days. Rodney looked up and saw the leader looking at him expectantly. A horrible realisation dawned on him. Sheppard and Ronan were basically unconscious and Carson was having too much trouble breathing to talk. It was up to him to save them. Again.
'Well, I see you're all very efficient at the, uh, beating, very nice…look, I know we trespassed – accidentally, but Carson's right, the only reason we came to this planet was to fish. We're not the evil, horrible men who forget anniversaries and flirt outrageously with our girlfriend's sister – well, Sheppard might be,' he said quietly, casting the Colonel a quick questioning glance. 'but I don't, and I know that Carson would sooner fight a Wraith armada than risk a relationship - but then I think he's anal in that respect, me? I'm not anal, like that, if I were to forget an anniversary –which I wouldn't – then I would make up for it with much romantic séances, unless the reason I forgot was because I had made a major scientific breakthrough, then I'm sure the woman that I had married would understand-'
'Rodney.' Carson croaked. 'Get on with it.'
'Oh, right.' He nodded. 'We're not evil, not here to harm anyone and we are most certainly not these Dryad people that you don't like. We are quite happy to just go back where we came from and never return. And I am especially happy to do that as soon as possible because I think Chef is serving meatloaf tonight.' He smiled at Carson who rolled his bloodshot eyes to the heavens.
Rodney turned back to the woman, who had sat during his ramble and given the weapon back to her guard, and gave her a nervous half-smile. The woman stared for a moment and then broke out into a wide smile of her own, laughing softly. Rodney frowned.
'I didn't say anything funny.' He stated rather harshly. Carson threw him a warning glare.
'You are an amusing individual Mckay.' She chuckled.
'Aye, you should see him when he's had a few drinks.' Carson rasped, attitude shining in his eyes.
'And I shall!' She jumped from her seat, her rather revealing outfit allowing them to see more of her supple skin than should have been made legal.
'You shall?' Rodney asked, confused.
'Yes.' She walked over to them. 'Cut their bonds.' She ordered.
The woman behind them obliged. Sheppard fell to the floor while Ronan held himself up, just. Carson's hand immediately went to massage his throat before he quickly crossed over to Sheppard and began checking his wounds. Rodney looked slightly stunned, but stood.
'Understand that I am not releasing you.' She stated. The smile fell from Rodney's face and was replaced by something far more bitter.
'And why not?' He asked.
'I believe that you are not of the Dryads.'
'Well I could have told you that - oh wait, I did.' Rodney snapped.
'Rodney.' Carson growled, not looking up from his place on the floor by Sheppard.
'Well-' Rodney stopped at the amused look on her face, a look that was starting to bug him. A look that – a look that wasn't amused at all, he was so out of practice he hadn't seen it until she was up close. The smile was not one of amusement, but of sensual admiration. Rodney's face went blank. 'Well. What exactly are we supposed to do. Here, I mean.' He edged to Ronan's side when he saw the hunger in her eyes.
She smiled widely again.
'Forget that Rodney, why can't we get our people home?' Carson demanded, looking at the woman with a dark frown. 'The Colonel's got a serious head injury, probably a concussion, there's no way he can heal here.'
'This is the reason that I wish for you to remain – we have shamans of our own with special herbs.' She walked toward Carson. 'The injuries you have are from the paranoia of an ancient feud, I ask for your forgiveness and that you will accept our medical assistance.' She said firmly. Carson saw the women behind her flex their muscles menacingly. He smiled weakly.
'Aye. That'd be wonderful.' He gave Rodney a look that said the exact opposite, a look the scientist mirrored. He paused. 'And once they've healed, you'll let us go?'
The woman gave a single gracious nod.
'Alright, but I need the equipment you took from me – not the weapons.' He said quickly, seeing a suspicious look creeping back onto her face. 'There was a bag with a box in it; it's full of medical supplies. I need them to treat the Colonel.'
'You will have it.' She nodded. 'And until you leave our village, we shall accommodate you with something more suitable than our holding room, something for which I'm sure you will be glad.'
'Oh I don't know, it seemed quite cosy, the odd pillow here or there and it would have been Tarzan's paradise.' Rodney said lightly, giving her the 'not happy' face he regularly gave to his scientists.
She smiled, not knowing who or what Tarzan was, but understanding his cocky and arrogant nature. 'Since you are fit Mckay and Beckett, I would expect for you to join us in our daily activities. The fields need working and we could use all the help we can find.'
Carson sighed but Rodney looked totally stunned. 'What? I'm not a Farmer, what do I know about plants?'
'By the end of your stay here, you will know much.' She smiled.
Carson grinned; at least she had a sense of humour. Rodney scowled.
'So, no meat loaf tonight then?' Rodney stated, folding his arms and looking thoroughly peeved.
'I do not know what this meatloaf is, but I believe that tonight is worthy of celebration. Would a grand feast and fine mead appease your appetite?' She offered.
'Yes. Thank you.' Rodney stared; the idea of a feast being grand but also because he felt that right now, after saving their butts, that he deserved it.
'That's very kind, but we have rations we could use if the food-' Carson began.
'The forest provides us with much; we are not in any danger of starvation.' She insisted.
'Well thank you, that would be lovely –' Carson paused.
'Lada.' Adina called to the guard beside her who walked in front. 'See to Dex and Sheppard, they require healing. Once Beckett is finished here, escort him to Sheppard's resting place. Once he is finished, he will join Mckay in the fields.' The woman nodded and walked to Sheppard, lifting him off the ground with another woman – an amazing feat considering that Sheppard wasn't exactly a small man. Ronan stood, raising an eyebrow to the Doctor's while another woman took him from the room.
Rodney glanced at Carson. 'Alone at last.' He muttered. Adina smiled. She had obviously been leader for a long time, and whatever game she was playing, Carson hadn't a clue. It wasn't like he was in any position to argue with her.
'What is your name, if you don't mind my asking?' He narrowed his eyes at her.
'You have every right to ask. I am Adina Dreydan, leader of the Sussearans.' She said proudly.
Rodney nodded. 'Nice, that has a nice sound to it.' He tried.
'Where do you come from Mckay?' She asked, leaning back in her throne.
'On a planet, far from here.' He replied quickly, casting Carson a nervous glance. The Wraith did not know that Atlantis had survived the attack, and he still didn't know what experience these people had had with the Wraith apart from the fact that they were aware of them. He wouldn't make the mistake of revealing too much in a first contact situation, something he hated to admit, that he had learnt from Sheppard.
Adina smiled slightly. 'I see. And you have travelled through the shining puddle – to fish?' She looked between them. 'Are there no suitable grounds for you to hunt on your home world?'
'I'm afraid they're quite far.' Carson explained briefly.
Adina nodded. 'And you had no knowledge that this place was home to my people?'
'We thought this planet was uninhabited by humans, which is why our leader allowed us to take some time off. You have a lovely home.' Carson offered, Adina thanked him for his words, and then she paused, giving Mckay a look over.
The scientist watched her. 'Yes, truly, very lovely, apart from the hot sun, mosquitoes and the odd bout of violence – it's a great place. I'm sure that we've had a wonderful… what are you doing?' Mckay asked quickly, Adina's eyes stopping their search of his body and examining his face.
'Do I make you uncomfortable?' She teased.
'No.' He scoffed, folding his arms. Adina slinked toward him. 'Slightly.' He squeaked. She grinned.
Mckay took a step back when she started to get too close.
'As the leader of the Sussearans, my every move is known to all, and so my people are well aware that I have been starved of male attention in many years.' She cooed. 'We have never before encountered beings with whom we are compatible, and also whom we find pleasing-' Mckay felt his back hit the wall and her finger trace the lines of his torso.
'That's nice, I'm glad were lickable – I mean, likeable – that's always nice to hear.' He stuttered, feeling dwarfed by her height, eyes as wide as dinner plates.
'The Dryads are an evil race of warriors, and where the attraction of a dark man is strong; they have never been overly smart or genius.' She paused, putting her hands by her sides. 'Your company will truly be intriguing – Rodney.' She looked to her other guard. 'Treleb will take you to Sheppard, Beckett, and then escort you both to the fields.' She looked back at Rodney and smiled, walking from the room into her private chambers.
Mckay gulped, breathing heavily. His wide eyes turned to Carson who had a comical look on his face, much like the moment Rodney had appeared in the outfit he had planned to wear on this planet. Carson had covered his mouth, but the laughter was clearly in his eyes. Mckay just blinked.
Carson moved his hand half way from his mouth. 'Should I have given you two a moment?'
'She was hitting on me.' Rodney spluttered. 'Can you believe that she was hitting on me?'
'No, I really can't.' Carson chuckled.
Mckay's eyes narrowed. 'Oh shut up.' He slumped. 'At least I got hit on by an Amazon Queen while you had the privilege of watching.' He smiled widely, folding his arms.
'And what a pleasurable privilege it was.' Carson glanced at the guard waiting for them, his smile widening when she returned it.
Mckay scowled at them. 'You could learn something from me, Carson. I can romance the pants off of women – literally! Did ya not see the heat between me and the Queen of these people-?' Carson put a hand on his shoulder urging him forward.
'Alright, Casanova, let's get moving.' Carson grinned, nodding to the guard to take them to Sheppard.
John felt warm, comfortable. He woke to the smells of the forest and the sound of a busy village. He blinked in the new light invading his eyes and lifted his hand to shield them. He felt water drip down his arm as he lifted it and looked at his hand. It was wet. He looked down and was surprised to see his naked self soaking in the tub Ronan had been in earlier. The only thing he appeared to be wearing was his dog tags. John quickly looked around the room and saw no one. Despite the headache and nausea and dizziness, he leapt from the tub and yanked one of the curtains down, wrapping it quickly around his waist. Who in the hell had put him in there?
Making sure that the curtain was securely stuck to his waist, he considered his options. Leave the room and be surrounded by women tugging at his curtain, not to mention the fact that his comrades would poke fun at him for the rest of his life. Or stay put, here, in a curtain. The options weren't exactly fabulous.
John suddenly realised that in his desperation to cover up, he had chosen the pink curtain that Ronan had refused to wear earlier. John rolled his eyes. There was no way he was going outside. He figured that since they were giving him a bath that the guys had managed to talk their way out of the nasty situation they had been in before, which meant he was in no immediate danger. He could wait for someone to show up, and then ask for clothes. His clothes preferably, leather straps weren't exactly his thing. And neither was a pink curtain.
John paced the room for a moment, his impatience rising. Not only had he been bathed without his permission, they had knocked him out twice, giving him the Mother of all headaches. John strode over to the door, his pink skirt fluttering around his bare ankles. He yanked the door open far enough to peek out. The day was coming to a close, but the village was still teeming with hard working women. Damn. He hadn't seen where they took Ronan's clothes when he was in the cell; he had been too worried about getting to his friend at the time.
John was about to close the door when a young woman suddenly stepped out from the side, she gasped at seeing him peek out and John opened the door wide.
'Uh, sorry, I didn't mean to-' He began, when he heard laughter roaring from the well in the centre of the village, just across from the bath house.
John narrowed his eyes to see who was laughing, and gritted his teeth. Ronan was sitting on a stool bent forward, laughing like a Hyena. John nodded, his fist balling.
'Alright, Ronan, I get it. Very funny.' John gave the girl a harsh look when he caught her smirking at his pink curtain and then sauntered back inside. 'Can I have some clothes please?' He demanded more than asked.
The girl followed him inside, closing the door on Ronan's hysterics.
'Are you certain? The skirt you wear is quite becoming.' She teased.
John gave her a side long glance which made her smile dissipate slightly.
'Do not fret Sheppard; my coming here was to provide you with clothes.' She placed his uniform on a small stool in the corner. 'They have been cleansed.' John thanked her, avoiding eye contact. 'Once you are dressed, I must escort you to our Shaman. Beckett managed to stop the bleeding from your wounds, but they require more treatment.'
John pulled the black T-shirt over his head and turned to the girl. 'Well, that's very generous, even though your people were the ones to give me this damn headache in the first place.'
John glanced at the hide skirt she wore and rather revealing top. She did not look like the other warriors he had seen in the village; she was younger, probably in training. Her dark hair was loose, falling down to the small of her back – she was pretty. Green eyes studied him with interest as well as caution.
'Adina apologises for your treatment, but we are at war. It was a misunderstanding.' She insisted, turning round as Sheppard picked up the trousers. He looked at her back and knew that she would not leave to let him change. He turned his back to her and slipped the trousers on under the curtain, whipping it off as quickly as possible.
'I take it you were the one to…' He paused, slowly readjusting his dog tags.
'Bathe you? Yes. It was requested. I did not volunteer.' She said sternly. 'Believe me Colonel, I behaved myself.' John raised an eyebrow. 'If anything, it was a waste, you were not that dirty. Adina merely wants to create a sense of trust between our people.'
'Sorry for the inconvenience, but I never wanted to be bathed in the first place.' He walked toward her. 'But thanks for the trouble.'
The woman turned. 'You are welcome.' She looked at him dressed in his uniform; he felt her eyes study him, recognising him not only as a soldier, but as a man. He brushed past her, the awkwardness making him twitchy.
'Where's the rest of my team?' He asked, opening the door. He saw Ronan still sitting by the well talking with a few women, all of whom were smiling and touching his arms. John shook his head.
'Ronan, as you can see, is resting his injury in the company of my sisters.' She said disapprovingly. 'Carson and Rodney have been taken to the field to work. It appears Adina was slightly displeased with your Scientist and believed the hard work would make him re-think his attitude.'
John smiled, only Mckay could get under the skin of the Queen of the Amazons. 'Knowing Mckay, not even a month in solitary confinement with a colony of man eating ants could make him re-think his attitude.'
'I sensed this also.' She walked out of the building and headed down a path into the village.
John slowly wandered out into the village and stopped, looking down to his bare feet.
'Um…hold on a second.'
The woman stopped and turned, looking displeased that she had been stopped.
'Don't suppose you have my boots handy?' He asked, grinning.
She smiled, and continued walking. 'We will return for them later.'
John's smile fell from his face. He glanced at Ronan once more, smiling and revelling the attention of the leather clad women. Male through and through. Okay, so he wasn't exactly complaining. He was happy that these people weren't kids, or the usual villagers. They were warrior women. It was new, and this job was all about the nude – the new. John shook his head and realised that he had been walking in zig zags behind this women, his injury apparently affecting his ability to walk in a straight line. He also realised that he was watching her long hide skirt flutter around her calves. Her very attractive calves. John mentally scolded himself and joined her at her side.
'So…do you have a name?' He asked lightly. She sighed.
'I am Boe.' She smiled weakly. John studied her. She hadn't been happy since the moment he woke up. Okay, since the moment he had gotten out of that ridiculous skirt, but that sight was enough to make any seriously depressed mental patient roll around in fits of laughter.
'I'm John, Sheppard, Colonel – but you can call me John.' He added clumsily.
'John.' She echoed. 'Why did you venture to our planet?'
'Fishing, a popular and rivetingly exciting pass time where I come from.' He said sarcastically.
'Why do I believe this is not so?' She smiled weakly.
'Okay, so I see fishing as a Robin to the Batman of all sport – Football, but that's another kettle of fish entirely. No pun intended.' He explained.
She frowned. 'Your speech is strange. I have never encountered such unusual men, but then I have never had meetings with many men at all.'
'Oh, so seeing me must be pretty damn strange.' John stated. 'On my world, men and women live together, in a kind of harmony.'
Boe smiled with scepticism. 'Really? And this is not difficult?'
'Oh it's difficult, but we manage, you know, unless there's the old "leave the toilet seat up" incident, or the "you just don't understand my feelings" bit. Then things can get a little complicated.' John nodded.
Boe had no idea what the man was saying, but liked what he said any way. She had never been spoken to by a man who was making pleasant conversation; at least, that was what her sisters believed. The smile fell as her mind wandered. John saw this.
'If you don't mind me asking, you don't exactly seem all that happy about something.' He prodded, trying to produce a face of reassurance. Really he was made uncomfortable by female problems and did everything he could to avoid them, but in this case, these people could be future allies. He needed to make with the nice.
Boe quickly gave a wide smile. Too quickly. 'Here is the Shamans hut, the woman inside is Gwyna, she is a wonderful healer.' Boe looked to the floor, avoiding eye contact.
'You know, changing the subject is not going to make the problem go away.' He said quietly, fixing her with his brown eyes encouraging her to say what was on her mind. Boe's shoulders drooped slightly. She didn't know this man, but for some reason, she found that she could trust him.
'You know nothing about my culture, John, and so I ask that you keep my thoughts to yourself.' She whispered.
'Of course.' John frowned, getting the feeling that he was entering into something he shouldn't.
She shut her eyes for a moment, the sound of the village buzzing all around her. She glanced at the hut behind them and spoke. 'The Kredan is approaching. On the twenty first year of a girl's life, she must join with a Dryad in order to make the passage.'
John did a double take. 'Join?'
Boe nodded. 'It is as you think.'
John nodded, his eyes straying to the ground in slight embarrassment. 'I thought the Dryad were your enemies?'
'They are, but our people and theirs have made this arrangement for many generations. It is our only way to make new sisters.' She glanced nervously at the hut again.
'I take it these Dryad people are all…male, right?' John queried, a few things now making sense about their capture.
Boe nodded. 'The Dryads send their best warriors to the Lake house where they meet the women with whom they must join with, they receive pleasure, and we receive the not only the passage to womanhood, but the cast which dictates our lives.' She urged, her eyes full of anger. Clearly this was a bad thing.
John shook his head. 'The cast being…?'
'If a woman falls pregnant, then she is doomed to serve the rest of her days as a mother and a fieldworker, if she does not fall pregnant, then she becomes a warrior who's actions are decided by Adina.'
John frowned. 'That's an interesting way of deciding occupation.' He said slowly. 'Hold on, I don't see any men or even boys in this village-'
'If a woman gives birth to a son, he is immediately taken to be raised by the Dryads, and the Mother is entered back into training to become a warrior.' She explained. 'This is so the woman can redeem herself for aiding the Dryads in replenishing their numbers.'
'Replenishing their – why not keep them?' John asked angrily.
'They are male – Dryad, it is part of the agreement. And we would never even consider murdering one so helpless, that is our way. It cannot stay and it cannot die, therefore it must leave.'
He felt a heat surge through his body and the pain in his head hammered against his skull. 'How can they do that? Twenty one years old and your entire life is decided by one night of sex? And not even meaningful sex! And then the kid gets chucked out just because he has a penis!' He paused. 'That seriously sucks.' John paused again, this time realising how loud he had been and seeing the alarm on Boe's face. 'Sorry, just, I think that's wrong.'
'So do I.' She breathed hard. 'But to refuse the act would mean war with the Dryads.' She paused. 'I am aged twenty one this year. The Kredan is in three days.'
John stopped. He had no idea what he was supposed to do. Nothing. He couldn't help her and cause war between two people, he couldn't be responsible for that. But to leave her here and face that…
'I do not expect anything from you, this must happen, I have no choice.' She looked to her village. 'It does not mean that I have to like it.'
John admired her courage, but the whole thing asked a lot from a woman who had barely lived.
'Please, the Shaman is waiting; we must prepare you for the evening's festivities.' She smiled weakly.
'Festivities?' He echoed, putting on a pleasantly surprised face to hide his feelings over the new and rather disturbing information.
'Adina has demanded a great feast with music and dancing in honour of our new found friendship.' Boe explained, her hands fidgeting at her side.
John could see that she was worried and that she was trying her best to brave the coming Kredan, but for the moment, he wasn't sure what to do. He only knew something had to be done. He also found it difficult to believe that Elizabeth would allow Atlantis and these people to become allies if that was the way they chose to live their lives. He could imagine Teyla storming over here and drilling it into their heads that this was no way for a woman to live.
'Well, at least your people don't have the arguments about the toilet seat incident.' He offered seriously.
'This is good, oh yeah, this is what I wanted to be doing with my time off – ploughing. With a primitive machine which makes me bend over for hours at a time causing back pain – I'm going to look like a withering, hunchback crone when we leave this planet.' Rodney complained, hoisting the large wooden plough through the mud. Carson rolled his eyes.
'You already sound like a crone,' he muttered, 'but at least you're back to believing that we'll get home in one piece.'
'Maybe we'll get home Carson, but if it's in one piece, I'm still gonna have to be airlifted out of here – do you know how heavy this is?' Rodney stopped pulling.
Carson also stopped pulling and glared at him, letting his own plough rest against his leg for a moment. 'No Rodney, I have no idea how heavy it is, I'm just doing the exact same thing as you are.'
'Oh, yes, so you are.' Rodney glanced at the woman to the side of the small field keeping an eye on them. 'Don't suppose you have any water?' He called. The woman did not respond. 'That's nice. Dehydration is handy.'
'If these women can handle it Rodney, I'm sure you'll survive.' Carson started pulling again. Rodney watched him go before hastily picking up his plough to catch up with him.
'These women are use to it, Carson, the heat, the manual labour – me? I'm use to air conditioning and lab work with a comfy chair, not to mention as much food and water as I need.' Rodney looked up to the clear sky, the warm sun making him sweat. 'I feel like bacon out here. You should have let me keep the hat, now, I'll burn, feint and die.'
'Your exposure to the sun hasn't nearly been long enough for that to happen, Rodney.' Carson insisted, the scientist's whining making him pull harder if only to get away. But Rodney kept up. Just.
'You're right, it'll be the starvation that gets me.' He croaked.
Carson rolled his eyes.
'Men!' The guard called. Carson and Rodney stopped pulling their ploughs, both ready to collapse. 'We must prepare.'
'Prepare for what?' Rodney whined.
Ten minutes later…
'If you tell anyone about this, I'll inject you with small pox.' Carson stated simply.
'Like this is a moment in my life that I'd like to share.' Rodney replied quietly.
They sat in silence.
'The water's cold.' Rodney complained.
'No.' Carson snapped. 'There is no water, Rodney, do you hear me?'
'Right.' Rodney sank further into the tub while Carson merely didn't move. 'I mean, they had to face us opposite each other, they couldn't put us in our own rooms or even turn us around.' He sulked, his hands shielding parts he didn't want seen that Carson couldn't see anyway from where he was. Carson was doing the same, a vacant expression on his face. 'I suppose we could have refused, but that would've probably insulted her highness…plus, it wasn't as though I was going to argue with spear lady.' Rodney explained. Carson remained silent. 'Do you think they'll bring more water?' He asked hopefully. 'Or maybe a large towel…'
Carson shut his eyes and slid down the tub, music playing in the dusk.