Chapter 2

"So why me? Why am I the one you want for your queen?" Sam stalled.

Zeus smiled, knowing full well what she was doing. "You are beautiful and you have spirit. That is more than I can say for any previous queens or their hosts."

"What happened to them?" Sam asked. She assumed he killed them, but wasn't sure if she wanted her suspicion confirmed or disproven. Figuring he wouldn't try anything to kill her for the moment, she took a step forward.

He smirked. "They died." Sam swallowed nervously, as her throat was suddenly very dry. He tone clearly indicated the deaths were very painful for the poor women, pleasurable for Zeus. "But on my original subject, do not fear, for you need not worry about giving me an answer now. But I do expect it by the end of our meal. Please, take…Lynn to her bathing room." Zeus turned around and began to walk away. Before he got too far, he paused. "Oh, and Lynn, do not refuse my invitation. I know that so much time in the sarcophagus tends to make one hungry. And," he added, "there is nowhere for you to go, so do not think about escaping my vessel." He continued walking away.

Sam turned to face the Jaffa before she saw where Zeus vanished but she did hear the sound of a "door" opening and closing.

Instead of leading her away again, one of the Jaffa barked a command in Goa'uldish and a door behind Sam opened again. She turned to see two pretty female Jaffa walking gracefully toward her. She noticed that their eyes were downcast and they walked forward hesitantly, yet still managing to do it with grace.

From what she could see, they were twins. Their caramel skin was the same shade and gleamed in the light of Zeus's "throne room." Both wore a simple tunics and plain ankle-length skirts.. They each wore a different color, one a rose pink and the other a periwinkle blue. Another difference was one had a waist-length, jet black waterfall of hair; the other had hair just over shoulder-length that cascaded beautifully over her thin shoulders. Their almond-shaped eyes fit into high, proud cheekbones.

The one wearing periwinkle looked up but still refused to meet Sam's eyes. "My goddess," she said. Sam started. She suddenly had a violent urge to shake the girl and order her not to call anyone a goddess but she wasn't in the mood to be smacked around by very muscular male Jaffa that outnumbered her. "Our lord Zeus asked that we be your personal servants. I am Kaelyn and my sister is Kaeleck."

Sam smiled, not quite sure how to handle two people who already worshiped her as a goddess. The thought made her sick with horror. These people weren't acting. They truly thought she was a goddess and worshipped her, and not out of willingness. People were now forced to follow her. This was exactly what SG-1 was fighting against. She uneasily mused about what Teal'c would say if he knew she was about to join the ranks of the one who had once oppressed him.

"Please, Goddess," whispered Kaelyn with wide hazel eyes. "My lord has asked that me and my sister find suitable clothes for you to dine in tonight."

How can they tell time?wondered Sam. If she correctly interpreted what Zeus said before, they were in space where, technically, there was no way to effectively differentiate day from night. She nodded, however, and the sisters led the way out. Sam was aware of the guards following them, probably in case she tried to do anything sudden and rash.

A few minutes later and two floors up (at least that was what Sam assumed, judging by the layout of this level), they stopped in front of a section of wall. If Sam looked closely, she was able to see a tiny crack that was in the shape of a door. Kaelyn touched a symbol on the wall and the door opened.

The room inside was dimly light. When Sam's eyes adjusted, she saw that there was a huge bathtub that reminded her more of a hot tub. On a shelf just above the far end of the bathtub was an array of lotions and what Sam assumed were bath gels. On the other end was what looked like a fairly modern dressing room in the sense it had a mirror, a rack for clothes (this one happened to be full), and a small dais for Sam to stand on.

"Please, my lady," Kaelyn whispered. "We do not have much time to prepare you. Take off your clothes and Kaeleck will put the appropriate gels into the water while I retrieve a towel and robe."

"Uh…" said Sam, flushing. She was highly reluctant to endure the same violation she felt when she emerged from the sarcophagus..

Kaelyn gazed at her in cautious amusement. "My lady?"

"S-Lynn, please," said Sam absently. At least the guards were decent enough to stay outside the room,she thought sarcastically.

"Yes, my lady," Kaelyn replied, averting her eyes from Sam's face again.

Sam sighed and walked to the edge of the tub. Up close, she noticed that it was filled almost to the top with warm water that gave off a faint scent of honey almond. She took off her clothes and quickly slipped into the warm water. True to her sister's word, Kaeleck quickly, and efficiently put the "appropriate" gels into the water.

"H-how old are you?" Sam asked, trying to start a conversation. Her voice echoed softly through the room.

"Sixteen, my lady," the girl replied.

Damn, thought Sam. That was too young in her book. Then again, she could easily picture Daniel telling her about many cultures when children were married and parents at a younger age than that. That was another question she you have to ask Zeus: what had happened to her friends? Did they ever return? Not that she expected him to answer truthfully.

The more immediate dilemma pulled Sam away from her mental queries about her teammates. She did not want to be a host or this guy's queen. The biggest question she had on that was, why didn't Zeus just make her a host? Not that she was complaining, but it still struck her as very…unusual.

Sam jumped as she felt something touching her head. "It's alright, Goddess," she heard Kaeleck say. "You look as if you have been in a fight in the mud; your hair is filthy. I am merely washing the dirt and grime out."

Sam relaxed slightly. Tonight, she would tell Zeus she would be his queen; a tiny white lie. There was going to be no way she would allow herself to be a queen, which left only one option. Sam smiled grimly as a plan began to formulate.

---------------

"Please try this one, my lady," asked Kaelyn. The girl held up a floor-length, sky blue dress.

Sam slipped it on. Out of the many dresses she'd tried on so far, this one fit the best. It was a silky material that clung seemingly tightly to her body, leaving little for the imagination. It had shoulder straps and a very low-cut collar. The skirt was long and, blessedly, loose.

"This one fits the best so far," Sam admitted reluctantly. Sensing the source or her unease, Kaelyn quickly handed Sam a wrap matching the dress. Sam smiled briefly in response.

She was standing on the dais in the center of the dressing room, trying not to scream in frustration. She already didn't want to be here, let alone trying on dresses to appease the only person in the world who she didn't want to attract. The twins took a few more moments to adjust the dress before asking Sam to walk to the vanity area to make Sam look even more like a sign that said "I'M A SLUT AND I WANT SEX."

That was another thing she didn't want Zeus to even think about. She sighed. If she didn't sabotage the engines tonight and make the whole vessel explode, that would be her fate. She would do a lot to ensure she or her friends would survive, but between marriage with a full package or death, she knew which one to choose.

Kaelyn worked on her make-up while Kaeleck attempted to style Sam's short hair. A half an hour later, Sam was ready to "impress" Zeus.

"Does this please you, my lady?" Kaeleck asked. Sam had yet to convince either of them to look her in the eye and not call her "goddess" or "my lady."

Sam looked into a nearby mirror. She had to admit to herself that the two girls did an excellent job on making her look seductive. The employees at Clinique could only hope they came close to doing people's make-up as well as Kaelyn. It was possible to tell Sam was wearing make-up but it was so subtle that it almost looked natural. Glancing at the slight alterations that had been made on the dress, she noticed that the final effect made it look even tighter, even if it felt comfortable and loose. She was showing way too much cleavage for her taste but there wasn't much she'd be able to do about it now. Another thing she could find fault with was the amount of skin on her shoulders showing, since the wrap wasn't designed to cover too much. She didn't mind wearing clothes similar to that back home but here it just seemed wrong.

Sam shook her head and replied, "You guys did a great job."

"If I may be so bold, my lady," began Kaeleck, ducking her head, "but what is troubling you?"

Sam realized that despite her compliment, her tone conveyed her apprehension about her plan. She certainly couldn't say the truth…at least, not the whole truth, so she said, "My people usually wait a long time to get married, joined, bonded, bound, or whatever people here call it, until they take some time to get to know each other. Then they get engaged, or betrothed. Then they finally marry. I guess this whole thing is against my values." It was partly true. She didn't know enough about Zeus to come up with anything very useful, really.

"That is what the dinner is for. My lady," Kaeleck added, ducking her head.

"I mean months, or even years if they choose," said Sam.

"Yes, goddess," Kaeleck replied.

"Please," Sam implored, "don't call me that."

"You are just not used to it, lady," Kaelyn assured. "You will become accustomed to it in time."

Sam's throat tightened. She didn't want to adjust to it. She didn't want to be here about to marry a Goa'uld. She wanted to be back at the SGC among friends. Her throat tightened further. Daniel was dead; she saw him shot and then all the blood…. Tears threatened to fall. She couldn't handle his death again. The experience with Nem had been tough enough, but this time, there was no falsified memory implanted in her mind about his being killed. The knowledge was in her mind and she knew it was real, just like she knew Daniel wasn't dead before.

"Lady?" asked one of the twins.

Sam shook her head roughly. "It's nothing." She sighed. "Let's go."

They led her out of the room and took her to the dining hall. It was actually a real dining hall. Sam was surprised; this hadn't been in the layout she had observed of other ships. Zeus was already seated at one end in between two empty chairs at the far end. She noticed there were at least sixteen chairs on the sides and one at the opposite end of Zeus. Kaeleck took her to the chair directly on Zeus's right. Sam hesitantly sat down and Zeus's eyes flashed with an emotion Sam couldn't read.

"It is a pleasure that you are here to join me," he said coolly, though Sam could hear a thin layer of mockery beneath his words.

Sam nodded stiffly.

Zeus looked sharply over at a Jaffa that was near and he scurried off to do whatever Zeus had silently commanded. The same Jaffa returned minutes later with a large tray of food. Sam was relieved to say that she recognized enough of it from world's SG-1 had visited to know what was edible.

"I hope you find this humble meal pleasurable," Zeus said smoothly.

It was anything but humble. Moments later, more Jaffa came out carrying tons of food on golden trays. There was soon an even larger variety Sam recognized as rough versions of some Earth foods and things they had eaten on other planets.

They ate in silence for a few moments until Sam realized he was waiting for her to say something.

"What about my friends? How long was I in the sarcophagus?" she asked. As ashamed as she was to admit it, she was starved after having gone for who knows how long without eating.

Zeus set his fork down and studied her face. Finally, he answered, "Your...friends never returned. I believe you were in the sarcophagus for a little less than one rotation of a little planet called Earth."

Sam tried not to choke. Did he know who she really was? If he did, he didn't let on. "My friends didn't leave me behind," she insisted fiercely.

His eyes shone with amusement. "We were on the planet for twelve hours and there was no sign of your friends coming back through the Chappa'ai."

"Then you're lying," said Sam.

Zeus's eyes glowed. "I am many things, but I not a liar. I deceive, perhaps, but never lie. I suggest you take note of that."

Sam turned back to her food and finished in a thick, tense silence that Zeus did not try to break. She took a sip of the wine and was surprised at how quickly it went to her head. She had a decent tolerance for alcohol and the light-headed fuzziness was unexpected.

The rest was finished in silence (Big surprise, thought Sam) and Zeus signaled what was left of the food be taken away. He turned to Sam who met his eyes defiantly. "What is your decision? I understand this must have been difficult for you." he said, patronizingly.

Sam swallowed. "I am willingly going to be your queen."

Zeus smiled triumphantly. He leaned in to kiss Sam. He forced her mouth open and she reluctantly responded. It took a lot of self control for Sam not to gag. Finally, she ended it. The look in his eyes told her he enjoyed it way too much for her liking.

"I will see you later tonight," he whispered in her ear.

Sam forced her expression to remain neutral.

---------------

Sam had just gotten into her robes for that night and snuck away from her "personal servants." It didn't take long for her to find the engine room and get to work. Just as she found the correct panel, she heard a voice behind her.

"I would not recommend tampering with the vessel in any way."

She whirled around to see Zeus emerge from behind a corner. "How—" she whispered.

Zeus cut her off. "Samantha, Samantha, Samantha. Did you not realize I recognized you for who you were? Your uniform was a big give away. Besides, how could I fail to recognize one of the famed members of SG-1, and one, I might add, with the memories of the Tok'ra Jolinar?"

Sam thought back to when they had spoken earlier, when he made the reference to Earth. She realized that not many aliens would know how long it took Earth to rotate and her lack of reaction was suspicious. Unfortunately, her game was given up long before.

Crap, thought Sam. This couldn't get much worse.