Hidden Majesty, 2/? P.3 - Of Intrigue, P.1

Mar 29, 2008 23:31


Hidden Majesty

CH.2, P.3 (Of Intrigue, P.1)

NOTE: This is still a 'flashback' scene - just LJ is being BITCHY, and won't let me italicize it and keep it from being split up even more...*kicks LJ*

Of Intrigue, P.1

Peeking her head inside the doorway to the study, Vala saw him on the far side of the room by the fireplace. A warm fire was roaring within its confines, illuminating the majority of the room. It definitely seemed more cheery then the rest of the palace.

She stepped into the room, quietly making her way to the plush chair he was reclining in. Vala noted how relaxed he seemed - it was quite a change from what she normally saw when she looked at him. Usually he was so restrained and proper...

With one foot up on the low table in front of him, a goblet dangling off the side of the chair in one hand and a book in the other resting in his lap, he almost looked...attractive.

Vala quickly banished the thought, disgusted with herself for thinking such a thing. This man was her every day annoyance - never would she find him even remotely good looking. Never.

"I'm surprised you're not in your chambers, trying to find some way to annoy my officer." His voice broke the silence of the room, and it caught her by surprise. He hadn't even looked up from his book. "Or give him the slip."

His blue eyes came to glance at her over his shoulder. They shimmered bright in the blaze of the fire.

She put on a look of indignation. "I myself am quite surprised." Vala crossed her arms as he raised an eyebrow. "Finding out you're hiding away in the study, reading a book of all things." She pouted as he turned back to said book. "I didn't think you were capable of such a sophisticated, learned task."

Shrugging, he brought the goblet to hover before his lips. "I'm sure there are many things you don't think I'm capable of." He murmured before taking a drink from the cup. Vala waited for him to say more as he brought the cup back down to dangle at the side of the chair, but he simply went back to his reading.

The background noise of the room became prominent once more - the crackle of the fire, the pelting of rain on the three large windows on the far wall, and every so often the turning of another page.

Finally, being blatantly ignored didn't suit the Queen anymore. She sashayed towards him, towering over the back of his chair. Her hands came to her hips.

"What are you reading that is more important than me?" Vala questioned in a slightly petulant voice.

He turned another page. "A book, as you've so helpfully informed me."

Vala glared down at the top of his head. He was more sarcastic and defensive then she'd seen him yet, and she was trying to deny herself the fact that it was intriguing. Charming to a point, even. Annoyingly charming, like the almost silence that once again filled the air.

She moved around the side of the chair, peering down at the contents of the book. When he didn't even look up from the pages, Vala huffed and decided a more direct approach was in order. She snatched the book out of his grasp.

He sighed in a way that seemed like he'd expected it.

"Let's see this..." Vala placed herself in the chair next to his. Her grey eyes came up for a moment to give him an annoyed glance. "Book." He just shrugged and drank from his goblet again.

Looking down, she now realized why she hadn't been able to tell what it was before. Even in the close proximity, she still couldn't read it. It wasn't English, though she did recognize a few choice words here and there.

"This is Latin." She stated with surprise, raising her head to glance at him again.

He was watching her intently. "It is."

Vala frowned in mild confusion. "You can read Latin?"

A curious smile came to his lips, and he tilted his head slightly.

"Oh don't look at me like that!" Vala snapped gently. "It wasn't an ignorant question." She thumped the book closed.

Rocking his propped up leg back and forth, he continued to smile at her. "What does it matter to you if I do or not?"

Vala narrowed her gaze. "It doesn't." She didn't like how his tone sounded like he'd figured her out. "I was just trying to be polite and conversational. That's why I asked."

"No." He answered back immediately, shaking his head.

She gave him a baffled look. "Excuse me?"

Again he shook his head. "No."

"No what?" Vala asked in exasperation.

"That's not why you asked." That damn secretive smile was back, quickly hidden behind the goblet as he drank yet again.

Vala was getting that infuriated feeling again, except this time it was different. She was almost liking it. She blamed it on the atmosphere of the room. "How dare you try and tell me what I'm thinking! I think I know what I'm thinking."

His foot thudded on the floor as he sat forward, elbows resting on his knees. The cup hung grasped in his hands. "See, there's the difference." He pushed out of his chair, sauntering past her own. Vala looked up at him as he passed, then brought her stare to the fire as he continued his explanation.

"Where you think you know..." She heard a cabinet open, and stuff being placed on top of something. "I definitely know what you're thinking."

She frowned again. "Oh really?"

He 'mmmhmm'ed. "Oh yes..." The sound of the cabinet closing and his returning footsteps came from behind her. "See, you asked that question because..." Vala glanced up at him as he came to lean over her chair. "You find me interesting."

Moving around the chair, he placed a second goblet on the table before her. "Drink, Majesty?" It was a question, but he didn't wait for an answer as he moved back to his seat.

Vala looked up at him as he took a sip from his goblet. It finally clicked why he seemed so relaxed and more aggressive. "You're drunk."

He brought the cup down. "A little, yeah." He nodded thoughtfully before he sank back into his chair, taking up the relaxed position he'd been in before.

"Isn't that..." Vala felt she should be angry or wary with this realization, but instead she found herself feeling...turned on...by it. "Going against your orders to protect me?"

The curious tilt of his head returned. "How so?"

She shrugged. "You're becoming more impaired with each drink you take, thus making it easier for someone to come and abduct or...kill me."

"Majesty..." He said in an amused voice. "Grover is in such a location that when it rains and the roads flood, it's near impossible to access it. There is no unidentified abductor or killer getting in here anytime soon, I am sure of it. And even if it were possible, I can guarantee you that I am still well within my capacity to protect you."

"I've fought entire battles drunk before, and I am far from getting anywhere near such a state." He drank from his cup again. "Nor will I be getting there. I'm simply enjoying what free time I have, thanks to the rain, with a good book and something good to drink. If I happen to get a little lit while doing it, so be it."

Lit - that's what the gypsies were known to call it. They also used several other terms for drunkenness. Vala knew this because Tomin hated them - mainly because it was how they would describe him to foreign travelers in their country.

Her grey eyes came up as he relaxed even further into his chair. That knowing smile was back.

"What?" She questioned, tossing the book on to the table. It landed next to the second cup with a gentle thud.

"You didn't deny my observation."

Vala met his gaze with a pure look of indifference. "Nor did I confirm it." At the nod and smug look that graced his features, she snatched up the cup and flopped back in her seat. "Don't fool yourself - I'm merely here out of boredom and nothing else."

She eyed the goblet in her hand. "Does my husband know you drink on the job?" Grey eyes came to look into blue.

"My Queen, there are a lot of things I do." He said as he gazed at her. "Most of which your husband will never know about." He gestured with the goblet in his hand to the room. "This night, in this room, what's in these cups - it's not his to know."

Vala sniffed the contents of her goblet. "What is in these cups, I'm curious to know?"

He motioned to her with his own. "If so curious, why not just try it?"

"I'm not too fond of drinking, Knight." She admitted, still eying the amber liquid.

"Daniel." He murmured to her, and she looked up at him. "My name is Daniel."

"Okay, Daniel..." Vala said, fighting the smile wanting to break free. "Again, I'm not big on-"

Daniel cut her off. "Just try it."

She looked at him, frowning with uncertainty. "But-"

"Try it." He coaxed.

At the look in his eyes, Vala looked down at her cup once more. Biting her lip for a moment, she slowly brought the edge to her mouth, taking a cautious sip...

Continued in Of Intrigue, P.2

Comments are definitely appreciated!!!

hidden majesty, sg1 fic, dv, au

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