Ambrosius (2/3)
Part 1
Part 2
The queen's shoulders slumped. "Heleth, please take Idris back to his chambers." Once the nanny and the protesting prince were gone from the room, Branwen sagged into her chair. "My captain and five of his finest men are escorting her to the far end of the valley, and will hold her at the garrison there until the Mothers arise, or the time of Awakening passes without the dragons returning. I am not optimistic about your chances of averting the Awakening, but I will not leave my son without a mother so soon after he lost his father to a cursed drake!"
Pulling the other chair out from the table, Daniel turned it toward Branwen and sat down, forearms resting across his knees. "I'd like to be able to promise that we can stop these dragons, but I can't. We've been here for less than a day, and haven't even begun to scratch the surface of the history of your world. What I can promise is that we'll do absolutely everything we can to determine how Myrddin was able to pacify the Mothers for so many years, and if it's a machine or a tool of some kind, we'll try to teach you how to operate it for yourself and your descendants. But kidnapping a friend of ours is not the way to secure our trust and goodwill, and ultimately, our help."
"Right now, our responsibility is to our friend and teammate," Mitchell added, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against a wooden pillar. "The 'knightly code' we live by says we don't leave our people behind, and Vala's one of us now. Order your people to bring her back, or we'll be forced to waste precious time going to retrieve her ourselves."
Branwen floundered, looking from Mitchell to Daniel, then to the equally angry and determined Sam and Teal'c. "I cannot do as you ask. By now, Captain Geralt and his men are miles away, having travelled throughout the night in order to reach the garrison as quickly as possible. It will take an equal number of hours for a messenger to reach them."
"Then send me," Mitchell said. "Give me a signet ring or some written orders or something so that the garrison will know I'm not yanking their chains when I tell them to free Vala."
"I will go as well, Colonel Mitchell," Teal'c volunteered, head lifting high and jaw working as he worked to control his anger at the queen's actions.
Daniel shook his head. "One of you has to stay here with Sam, and since you're a little more familiar with Ancient than Mitchell is, I'd rather it was you, Teal'c."
"We'll all go," Sam suggested.
"What? No! Jackson, you and Sam have to stay here and keep digging through that library to find Merlin's jukebox, or whatever. Teal'c and I'll rescue our damsel in distress, but in case the dragons wake up cranky before we can get back, somebody's going to have to stop them." Mitchell swished his finger through the air, pointing to both Daniel and Sam. "That means our resident science twins, got it?"
Daniel's jaw tightened in preparation to argue further, but in a sudden flash of inspiration, he asked, "Branwen, did Myrddin have a personal library or study he used whenever he came here?"
"Ah... aye," she answered, looking young, confused, and defeated. "There is a chamber at the top of the west tower which was his, but there's nothing there, now. All of his books and papers have long-since been moved to the main library."
"Show us where it is," he ordered, then added, "please."
"Jackson?"
He grimaced, then shook his head. "Just a hunch."
Mitchell nodded. "Good enough for me."
* * *
The west tower seemed to stretch upward for dozens of stories, though Daniel counted only three landings before they reached the door at the top of the spiral staircase. Each landing had held at least one closed door, which Branwen had explained led to bedchambers for the unmarried men within the castle staff, including guardsmen, shepherds, and cooks. The top room, though quite spacious, remained empty even after all these years, largely because no one wanted to be occupying it if the mysterious Myrddin returned.
Disused hinges squeaked and groaned as Branwen pushed futilely at the door, but Teal'c quickly had it strong-armed the rest of the way open. Flicking on his flashlight, Mitchell led the way into the room with Sam close on his heels, and Daniel and Branwen were right behind her. A sweep of SG-1's lights showed that little remained in the circular room but long-collapsed furniture, all of which was covered in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs. What might have once been tapestries hung in tattered threads on the walls, and watery light spilled dull puddles on the floor through the warped glass of dirty windows. Overhead, the roof of the tower rose to a point, and cobwebs, frayed ropes, and old chains hung from the rafters.
Casting his gaze downward, Daniel was surprised to see a tiled mosaic floor instead of the usual flagstones and timbers seen elsewhere in the castle. Moving to the wall allowed him to see that the decoration, though nearly hidden by dust, clearly depicted an active Stargate, with a series of colored ribbons radiating outward from the center of the event horizon. Each was a different hue: red, blue, green, purple, gray, and black, plus three other muddy-looking hues which currently looked like shades of brown, but may have once been brighter.
"Guys... take a look a this," he called, directing everyone's attention to the floor.
"It's a Stargate!" Sam exclaimed, recognizing it immediately. "Nine threads coming from it... maybe Merlin was experimenting with applications for the Stargate's ninth chevron?"
"Shouldn't he already know what the ninth one did?" Mitchell asked. "I mean, the Ancients built the things, so why put nine chevrons on there if they didn't already have a use for them?"
"It would not be the first time the Ancients created technology they could not fully understand or control," Teal'c reminded them. "Their attempts to create a time machine on P4X-639 were quite unsuccessful."
"Oh, you mean Planet Groundhog Day?"
"Indeed."
Daniel cleared his throat. "Actually, I'm pretty certain the ribbons refer to the Sisters of Avalon. According to what Prince Idris told us earlier, there were nine of them, correct?"
Branwen nervously clutched at the sleeves of her gown. "Yes. They were all goddesses, or at least demi-goddesses, and allies of Myrddin and the druids. Morgana, as you named, was one, as were Cerys, Morgause, Alisana, Nimue, Nineve, Vivane, Alaina, and Omasala"
"Oma Desala?" Daniel and Sam chorused.
"I... it is possible... you would have to ask Glenys."
"Daniel..." Sam began.
"Yeah..." he sighed, pulling off his glasses and rubbing at his persistent headache. "That's a pretty safe bet they're the same, and I recognize some of the other names, too: Morgause, Nimue, Nineve, and Vivane, and there's something naggingly familiar about Alaina."
"The Lady of Shallot was named Elaine," Teal'c suggested.
"Right... so were at least two other women in Arthurian legend, but there's something else... It'll come to me."
Mitchell frowned. "Jackson, are you feeling all right?"
"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine... just a bit of a headache, and I'll feel a lot better when I know Vala's okay." He put his glasses back on, and stared at the mosaic with a furrowed brow. "Uh... Sam, Teal'c, this might seem like a strange question, but does either of you sense any naquada in here?"
"Now that you mention it..." Sam began, tilting her head as she concentrated. "Yeah, there's definitely something here."
"I sense it as well," Teal'c agreed. His left eyebrow rose. "It would seem to be coming from the floor."
"From the mosaic?"
"That would seem likely."
Mitchell squatted and tapped the butt of his weapon against the floor, moving it a few inches between each thump. As he passed over the Stargate itself, the sound changed. "The 'Gate's hollow," he announced, giving it a few more taps to verify his findings.
"There's probably something under there... a cache of some kind?" Sam asked,
Teal'c cast a look around the room, and this time both eyebrows lifted. "A transport ring."
"Oh my god, you're right, Teal'c!" the scientist exclaimed, staring at her hand-held scanner's display. Unclipping her pack, she wasted little time in digging out her laptop. "After the incident on P2X-887, Doctor Lee and I started working on a program that could potentially be used to remotely activate any ring platform... I just have to find the right frequency."
"Get on it, Sam... Teal'c and I are going after Vala."
Daniel shook his head. "No, I'm going after Vala, and Teal'c's staying here to help Sam."
"Jackson, you've got a killer headache, and even if you didn't, somebody's gotta translate any nifty gadgets that may turn up on the other side of those rings."
"I can't explain it, Mitchell... I have to go. I... I've been having dreams."
"Dreams?"
"With Merlin in them. I think they might be some of his memories, but they're strange... like he's still in there, and he's still trying to teach me things."
Branwen made a small noise of distress. "You... you're Myrddin's apprentice?"
"What? No!"
"Not anymore," Mitchell muttered.
"I never was," Daniel retorted. "We just happened to share... head-space... for a while."
"You said there was nothing of him left!"
"I didn't think there was until recently, and I wasn't even sure they weren't just really bizarre dreams until we came here and I recognized the mountains."
"Why didn't you say something?!"
"Because I didn't think it was important at the time!"
A sharp whistle interrupted their argument, and both men turned to look at Sam, who had a look of incredulity on her face. "Thank you!" she exclaimed once they'd shut up, and returned her attention to her laptop.
Mitchell shook his head. "All right, new team rule: bizarre dreams that involve Merlin-or Jolinar-"
"Or Qetesh," Teal'c added.
"-or Qetesh, get shared with the class if they seem in any way based in reality. Got it?" He let out a huff of air-not quite a laugh, not quite a sigh-and added, "I mean, how many times has something somebody on this team dreamed actually turned out to be important?"
"Finding the Tok'ra," Sam replied.
Teal'c arched an eyebrow. "The Harcesis and Kheb."
"Osiris, Sarah, and the memory device."
"Okay!" Daniel exclaimed, waving his hand at them to get them to stop. "Fine, anything I think might be a memory or a vision of Merlin gets reported."
"Great!" Mitchell slapped him on the shoulder. "Now let's go rescue the princess."
* * *
There were two important matters that had to be addressed before Daniel and Mitchell could set off for the distant garrison, and one of those involved getting Branwen to write official orders to Captain Geralt. Daniel read the document before it was sealed to ensure the queen wasn't going to betray them to the guard-her suggestion, as she rightly assumed that she had lost SG-1's trust-and Mitchell tucked it into his pack for safe-keeping. Then, though it took them in the wrong direction, they detoured to the Stargate to report to General Landry.
Landry wasn't pleased with the turn of events, but he did seem satisfied with the efforts the team was making to remedy the situation, and promised both a small team of scientists and at least two heavily-armed SG teams would be en route to assist Sam and Teal'c, and to help defend the castle should the dragons make an appearance. Then, knowing that the two men had a long way to travel and a potentially short time in which to get there, the general had Siler to send through a pair of ATVs, one of which was packed with an extra helmet and a "piggy-back" harness to allow it to more-safely carry a second rider. The other had two gasoline-filled jerrycans strapped to the back, should they need to refuel, plus a duffle of rations and other supplies.
Although Daniel had never ridden an ATV, he was a quick study, and after a few minutes practice, he and Mitchell set off across the valley toward the mountains. Dust flew up behind them as they zipped down the hard-packed dirt road, and Daniel could only imagine what was going through the minds of the bewildered shepherds they passed.
"Sure as hell beats walking!" Mitchell exclaimed over the comm gear built into their safety helmets. "You reckon the guys in the field think we're riding some seriously messed-up horses?"
"From the noise, they might think we're riding miniature dragons," Daniel replied. "But as long as these things get us there fast, I don't really care what the locals think."
"You really care about her, don't you?"
"What?"
"Vala. You really care about her."
Daniel glanced over at his companion, but Mitchell's faceshield prevented him from seeing the other man's expression. "Of course... she's my friend and teammate."
"She's more than that, Jackson."
"Mitchell..."
"And," the colonel drew out, "you mean more to her, too. And I think you know that."
"We're... I can't explain it. There are times I think we couldn't be any more opposite, and other times I can't help but think how much alike we are. Watching her be burned to death in Ver Eger... that was bad. Losing her to the Ori... that was bad, too. Then I thought I'd lost her when she was kidnapped by Athena, and that was..." He searched for words, but despite having more than thirty languages at his disposal, the only thing he could come up with was-
"Bad?" Mitchell guessed.
"Yeah. I mean, it was right under our noses. Hell, the only reason she was even out in public where she could be grabbed was because I was the one who took her out to dinner."
"Ah, the not-date."
"It wasn't a date."
"Right. Just like the weeks she spent moping around base after Adria grabbed you weren't because she missed you."
"For all any of you knew, I was dead."
"Yeah, but Vala wasn't-and for that matter, still isn't-taking it at all well. And as if you being gone wasn't bad enough, then she had that run-in with Tomin."
"Her husband Tomin?"
"One and the same. She'd have done you proud... seems she managed to talk him around to taking a hard look at the way the Priors were twisting the Book of Origin to suit the situation, and it seems he defied a Prior to help her escape an Ori ship."
"Wow." Daniel had skimmed through the reports from the missions during his absence, but for some reason, he'd missed that detail. That incident was probably what he'd already perceived must have been bothering Vala when they first arrived on-planet. "What happened to him after that?"
"No way to know. He might be dead, might be alive... The point is, you and Vala need to talk, and I don't mean that little game where you trade petty insults and pretend you don't care."
Realizing that there was at least a grain of truth in what his team leader was saying, Daniel nodded and turned his full attention back to the approaching mountains. "Well, in order to do that, we have to get her back."
"Then we'll get her back," Mitchell agreed, and nothing more was said.
* * *
As they got closer to the mountains, the terrain became considerably rougher and rockier, and it took all of Daniel's concentration to handle the unfamiliar vehicle. Mitchell drove his ATV with the reckless ease that was so much a part of the fighter pilot's nature, and Daniel was glad to let the colonel take the lead on the trail. On one of the few times he dared to glance up from the road immediately before him, he was finally able to see the crenellated top of the Cambrian garrison.
"There it is," Mitchell announced, pulling his ATV to the side and allowing Daniel to catch up to him. "I'm not entirely sure if we should hoof it the rest of the way, or risk spooking the guard with our noisy 'horses'."
"I don't know either," Daniel admitted, frowning up at the tower. His gaze was inevitably drawn toward the mountains, and a prickling sensation began to creep up his spine again. "ATVs," he decided suddenly. "We don't have much time."
"Jackson?"
White noise began to fill his head, and it was all he could do to not cry out from the sudden needles of ice and fire stabbing at his nerves. "We have to go now!" he gasped, fumbling for the accelerator and gunning the engine. In his desperation, he nearly tipped the ATV over, but he was able to keep it upright and moving in the right direction. The struggle against the laws of physics allowed Mitchell to catch him up, and they were soon racing side-by-side across the rocky hillside, charging straight for the tower.
An ear-splitting shriek tore through the air, and even though the safety helmets helped to muffle the sound considerably, it was still almost painfully loud. A daring glance upward showed a streak of white overhead, moving far too quickly to be a cloud, and Daniel tore his gaze away immediately. Ahead, the boulders were parting to reveal more of the garrison tower, and as he looked on in horror, a raised wooden platform on a low hill next to the tower.
There, chained to a post eerily reminiscent of a stake used for burning accused witches, stood a figure in a simple white dress, and the wavy black locks spilling over her shoulders left no doubt as to her identity.
"Vala!" Daniel screamed.
There was no way she could have heard him from this distance, but she seemed to have heard the roar of the ATVs even over the noise the dragon was making. She turned to face him, and he could see her mouth move in what looked to be his name.
Another shriek sounded, followed by a ferocious roar. Not even daring to look up, Daniel turned his full concentration on the path before him, and as soon as he was close enough to the platform, he slammed on the brakes and shifted it into park as soon as it had come to a stop. His helmet was flung off, his P-90 snatched up, and he was up the steps and at Vala's side almost before Mitchell had finished halting his own vehicle.
"I hope you brought a key!" she shouted, her voice nearly lost beneath the terrible noises overhead.
"How about primer cord?" he answered, digging in his vest and coming up with the small coil Jack O'Neill had long ago taught him to never leave Earth without. Even though he'd rarely found occasion to use it, the fact that it was coming in handy now made almost ten years of packing it around worthwhile.
"The dragons are fighting each other!" Mitchell informed them, clearing the top of the platform.
"I know!" Vala replied. "According to Geralt and his goons, that's what they always do, and then the winner gets to eat the sacrificial lamb... and guess who that is!"
Daniel tied a piece of primer cord around the chains, set the detonator, and tugged Vala around in front of him, his body shielding hers. The explosion was quick but effective, and the sound of the chains hitting the platform floor was music to his ears. "Let's go!"
"Jackson!" Mitchell yelled.
A tremendous force slammed into Daniel's side, and with his arms still wrapped around Vala, she was carried with him as he was flung off the platform. Something snapped when he hit the ground, and he was unable to prevent a cry of pain from escaping. The chatter of a P-90 reached his ears, and he looked up to see Mitchell standing on the platform above, attempting to fend off the dueling dragons as their battle brought them close to the ground again.
"Move!"
Loosening his grip on Vala, Daniel attempted to roll to his feet, but fire flashed down his left side and nausea assailed him. Making it only to his knees, he brought his own rifle up, and as a streak of red flashed by, he instinctively fired. The armor-piercing bullets struck their target, and the red dragon roared and twisted away, striking the ground with a thunderous crash before launching itself into the air again.
Instantly, he knew he'd made an error. "Shoot the white one!" he yelled at Mitchell. "Not the red one, just the white one!"
"Are you crazy?!" Mitchell yelped.
"Trust me!"
Trust in him was something the colonel had in abundance, Daniel realized. In a strange moment of detachment, he reflected that of all the people he'd ever known, few had trusted in him so quickly and completely as Cameron Mitchell. It was as though he'd never needed to prove himself to the colonel: that everything Mitchell needed to know about him had been decided before they'd even met, perhaps even before Mitchell began studying SG-1's mission reports.
Vala's hands fell upon his thigh, and his Beretta was drawn from its holster. Its sharp report was soon heard as she grimly emptied the clip into the white dragon's hide. Her trust had come much slower, and in many ways, he felt he was still trying to earn it. She was a wounded soul, someone who'd been hurt badly countless times, but still managed to find her feet and carry on. In this way, she reminded him of Jack, as well as in the way that that cherished friendship was also a perpetual work-in-progress.
And then there were Sam and Teal'c, the sister of his heart and the brother of his spirit. Their trust had also had to be earned, but once won, it had rarely faltered. Sam's analytical mind was the perfect complement to his intuition, and Teal'c's steady wisdom was a source of strength despite the shaky beginnings to their relationship. They were his champions and defenders, his brothers and sisters in arms.
They were his Knights.
Shrieks and roars drew his attention to the sky again, and to his elation, the white dragon broke away from the red one, streaks and splatters of bright orange blood marring the gleaming scales as she fled from the battle, her injuries too numerous to allow her to continue. Wings beating furiously to increase her altitude, the White Mother headed for the snow-covered mountain, her rival in close pursuit.
"Hell yeah!" Mitchell crowed. "We beat the damn dragon!"
Wearily, Daniel nodded and opened his mouth to reply, but the only sound that emerged was a strangled groan. The P-90 fell from his hands, and as he began to fall forward, hands were at his shoulders, guiding him to the ground in a more controlled manner. The pain in his shoulder and side flared white-hot again; worried faces floated above him, doubling and swimming as he struggled to remain conscious, but it was a battle he was clearly losing.
The world abruptly dimmed, and he looked up to see red filling his vision. Mitchell yelled, Vala screamed, and the ground fell away into darkness.
* * *
"You would drive us into exile?" the White Sister snapped, pale curls framing her rapidly heating face. "You have no authority over me, Ambrosius Myrddin!"
"Your feud has gone on long enough!" the wizard countered, slamming his hand down on the table and causing it to shake. "This world will be torn apart if this madness continues, and neither of you sees fit to listen to reason."
"There can be no reason when the mind is closed," answered the Red Sister, toying with the silver band around her neck. "Morgause is beyond reason."
"Says the Sister who defies the counsel of her elders on a continual basis. You refuse to abide by the boundaries our own mother has set forth, Alaina. You think yourself better than any of us."
"What I think does not matter," Alaina replied. "We are here to protect and guide the mortals, not play games with them. If I overstep my bounds, it is because you have crossed them first."
"Enough!"
The force of the command nearly knocked Daniel over, and he had to grab at a bookshelf to steady himself. Turning, he watched in astonishment as an emerald-clad woman of indeterminate age entered, her presence filling the room as completely as her voice had.
"Great Mother," Morgause began, the flush fading from her cheeks.
"Do not speak, child. The damage you have caused with your foolish whims has threatened the entire alliance. Already, there are whispers among the Brothers that we should abandon this world and rejoin the rest of our kind."
"I meant no harm, Mother," she protested. "I only sought to-"
"Your intentions were selfish and short-sighted, child. Everything Myrddin has worked to accomplish is unraveling, and it may be many years before the path can be corrected." The Green Sister then turned her attention upon her other daughter. "You have also created much havoc by your actions. The Sangreal was to be our most closely-guarded secret, and now it will have to be destroyed to preserve the balance. You speak of your sister playing games with mortals, but you are also guilty of toying with them needlessly."
"Nimue," Merlin began, holding out a hand toward the Green Sister. "All is not lost. The rise of Mordred and the fall of Lancelot are both matters of grave concern, but I believe our mortal champions can persevere. Aurelianius and I have watched over Arturis since he was a boy... despite the tragedies he has suffered, his heart remains true."
With a flick of her hand, Nimue dismissed her daughters, sending them scurrying for the door. "You are ever the optimist," she smiled wistfully, her voice becoming something more... human. "I regret I cannot share in your hopes, old friend. Nineve and Cerys have already returned to their world, and Vivane will be not long after them. Morgana is torn between duty and friendship, Omasala grows restless, and Alisana is simply losing interest. The Nox are departed, the Ancients distracted..." She bowed her head sorrowfully. "And my daughters and I are divided."
"Arturis yet needs me," Merlin denied. "My Brothers are also quitting the field, but I... I must see this through. I cannot rest yet."
Nimue smiled wistfully and smoothed a lock of Merlin's graying hair away from his forehead. "Perhaps a rest is what you need. Perhaps a rest is what we all need."
* * *
Voices called from the far end of a long tunnel, and Daniel found himself rushing toward the sound.
"Come on, now... wake up."
A soft groan escaped his lips as his return to awareness brought with it a dull ache in his left shoulder and side. Squinching his eyes briefly, he let his lids flutter open just enough to filter the flickering light of a fire. Everything was a bit blurry, but he found himself looking at what appeared to be a ceiling made out of solid rock.
"Welcome back," greeted a familiar voice, and he turned his head toward her.
"Did I go somewhere?" he groaned, grimacing as the movement pulled at already-sore muscles.
Vala cupped her hand around his cheek. "You took a little trip to La-la Land. How are you feeling?"
"Tired... side hurts... confused. Where are we?"
She bit at her lip. "Remember those two mountains at the far end of the valley from the castle and Stargate?"
It took him a moment to recall which castle and Stargate she meant, and once he did, pieces started to fall into place. "We're in a cave?"
"More than that, we're in a dragon's lair."
"A dragon?!" He tried to sit up, but without being able to move his left arm, it was a struggle. Thankfully, Vala was there to assist, and with her providing support to his injured side, he was finally upright.
Even without his glasses, the dragon was easy to spot. She was massive-more than twice the size of an elephant-and covered in thousands of gleaming red scales. Each of her legs ended in a four-toed, claw-tipped paw, and her coiled tail was probably three times as long as Daniel was tall. Her head was adorned with a crest which flared outward from her skull, then tapered into a series of bony spikes and whip-like protrusions. Her fang-filled mouth hooked like a bird's beak in front, but it didn't diminish from the overall impression of feline predatory power and grace.
Her eyes had been closed, but as Daniel sat up, the lids on the nearer side parted and a nictitating membrane slid out of the way, revealing a large gold-green eye with a vertical slit-pupil. The Red Mother then raised her head and turned to look at her human captives straight-on, a soft growl escaping her throat.
The growl wasn't the only thing Daniel heard. The white noise he'd experienced earlier was back again, only this time, he was able to identify the sound as an extraordinarily complex melody. There was something familiar about the song, and in a moment, he knew.
"Alaina."
The dragon chuffed softly, crossing her front paws. "I greet thee, Ambrosius."
"Daniel?" Vala whispered, wide eyes not leaving the dragon for an instant.
Daniel shook his head. "No, I'm not Myrddin. My name is Daniel."
"Ambrosius Daniel, then, for that is what you are, yet I feel I already knew you. Nevertheless, you hear my song, do you not?"
"Um... yes. Why do you call me 'Ambrosius'?"
"You both smell of mortal kind, but while you can hear me, your mate cannot."
Ignoring the "mate" misunderstanding for the moment, he turned his head to look at his friend. "Vala? Can you... hear the dragon?"
"It's growling, if that's what you mean," she answered, "and looking very hungry."
"Rest assured, I do not eat the flesh of sentients. Unfortunately, such cannot be said for my sister and her mindless brood."
Daniel blinked. "Uh, okay, 'cause I either I'm imagining things, or I can hear her talking. She says she doesn't eat 'sentients'."
"Well that's... reassuring. So why'd 'she' drag us off to her lair?"
"You were struck during my battle with Morgause, and suffered an injury from the fall. Your mate and your knight turned their weapons on Morgause, and she was driven from the field. I returned to carry you to safety, but could take only one other. I chose your mate... was that acceptable?"
"I... uh... I guess. What happened to Mitchell-the knight-then?"
"I do not know. I could return to retrieve him, but I fear he would misunderstand and strike me. Once you are well enough, I will gladly carry you and your mate back to the field."
He nodded, swayed, and would have fallen had Vala not steadied him. "Sorry, but listening to you is a little... overwhelming."
"I apologize. There is a device here-made by the Ancients-which enables my people to take a form in your likeness. My sister and I abused ours, and Myrddin locked their use. Since you are Ambrosius, you should be able to activate it."
Turning his head, Daniel looked around the cave, spotting a battered metal trunk. "Is it in there?"
"Yes."
"Unless 'it' is a bunch of old, cheap-looking jewelry," Vala began, anticipating his question, "then 'it' isn't in that box."
An image from his dream came to him, and recalled that Alaina, Morgause, and Nimue had all worn similar silver bands around their necks. "There should be a silver torc," he replied, and Alaina's approving nod indicated his assumption was correct. "Trust me on this, it's not as simple as it looks."
Vala's lips pursed, her face lined with concern. "If I let go of you, you'll likely fall down. Scoot back against this rock, and I'll go look for this torc-thing."
"It's an open circle with two-"
"I know what a torc is, Daniel, thank you," Vala snapped, standing up and stalking over to the trunk. Her mud-spattered dress swished around her legs as she walked, and he remembered suddenly that he'd come all this way to rescue her.
"Sorry... it's just... uh, are you okay?"
"Okay?" Vala spun around. "Am I 'okay'?! Let's recap: in the last twenty-four hours, I have been ignored, attacked from behind, dragged across half the planet in the middle of the night, stripped, made to wear this itchy wool dress, and staked outside for snack food. Oh, and lest we forget, carried off by a dragon!"
He sighed. "I know, I just... Just bring me the torc, okay? I've got a bad enough headache as it is, and trying to talk to Alaina is making it worse."
Clenching her jaw, Vala spun around and dropped to her knees next to the trunk. The lid was flipped back with enough force that it banged against the wall behind it, and she had to push it back less-forcefully to keep it from slamming shut again. Pulling her sleeves up, she began to dig in the box, making extra noise just to express her frustration. Daniel winced at a particularly loud crash and mentally resolved to have a chat with her as soon as they had some privacy.
"Found it!" Vala called out, triumphantly holding a dark-colored circle over her head. "Doesn't look silver, though."
"Over a thousand years' worth of tarnish?"
"Oh! Right." Standing up, she brushed off her knees and returned to his side, handing over the torc. "So... why do you need that?"
"Well... it's something the Ancients invented, apparently... but I'm not entirely sure how it's-"
The rubies embedded in the endcaps of the torc flared to life, and when Daniel's vision cleared, the dragon was gone. In her place lay a woman with long auburn hair and fair skin. She was lying on her front, propped up on her elbows, and gave an exclamation of surprise when she looked down at her hands.
"It worked!" she cried out, scrambling to her feet, her crimson gown shimmering from the sudden movement. "Oh, how strange this feels to stand on two legs again... and to speak with my mouth!"
"Yes, yes," Vala began drily, "it's thrilling. Who are you?"
Alaina was either unaware of Vala's sarcasm, or simply chose to ignore it. "My true name cannot be pronounced with a mouth of this shape, but when I lived on Avalon, I was known as Alaina."
"Right... that's what Daniel said."
"She's one of the Sisters of Avalon," Daniel added.
Vala's eyes narrowed, then abruptly widened. "Oh! I read about you in a storybook the queen let me borrow... before she had her guards clap me in chains and drag me off into the night."
"Yeah... apparently, there's a local legend that the dragons are appeased by the sacrifice of a noblewoman."
"Not helping, Daniel."
"No, I suppose not. The point is, Branwen admitted she did wrong, and told us where to find you. Mitchell and I came here with written orders for the guards-authorizing your release-but the Awakening sped things up a bit."
"I apologize for that," Alaina said, cheeks coloring lightly. "When we were exiled, Myrddin placed a device here that keeps my sister and I in Dreaming... a sort of spirit state that exists for our kind. At regular intervals too great for the lives of most humans to witness, we would awaken, and Myrddin would be there to determine if we had learned from our errors. Morgause has never accepted her wrongs, and so we would be returned to Dreaming again."
Vala sat down at Daniel's side. "Both of you? That doesn't seem quite fair."
The Red Sister smiled sadly. "We are sisters, but in discord. Until there is harmony between us again, I will never be able to return to my kind, for a part of me will always be unbalanced. Did you not feel pain inside when my sister and I first engaged in battle?" At Daniel's nod, she finished, "That is but a hint of what my people would feel, should I return without this trouble resolved."
"Not good, then."
"It would be unpleasant, yes." She began to walk around the room, touching broken bits of furniture and tattered cloth. "I don't know where Myrddin might have hidden the Dream-Giver. Does he have a stronghold of his own in which to keep his instruments? Since you are Ambrosius, you could activate his machine and send us back to sleep."
Vala arched an eyebrow. "Ambrosius? Where have I heard that before?"
"At the briefing," Daniel answered, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm guessing Ambrosius is a title that has to do with the Ancients."
"Not a title," Alaina corrected, "but a state of being. An Ambrosius is an Ancient who has taken human form." She cocked her head curiously. "Why do you not understand these things?"
"I'm not an Ancient," he sighed. "I mean, I was ascended briefly... twice, maybe... but I was born human, and I'm still human."
Alaina crossed her arms and eyed him skeptically. "Perhaps you are unaware of your time as one of the Ascended-"
"Pretty much."
"-and therefore do not recall what you were before you were born human." The Red Sister closed her eyes, pressing her fingertips to her temples. "The... 'song' of an Ambrosius is different than that of a fully-mortal creature. I do not know why you do not remember, but you are Ambrosius. You were one of the Ascended, but you chose to return to this world by being reborn through a human mother." Her eyes flew open. "Your mate... she has given life to an Ambrosius as well?"
"Mate?" Vala echoed.
Daniel, however, had been stunned into silence. Alaina seemed so certain that he was an Ambrosius, but that didn't sit well with what he knew of himself. He was no reborn Ancient; he was Daniel Jackson, son of Melburn and Claire, and that was that.
Except that...
"Daniel, darling, I believe we've been married without our consent... again."
"What?"
Alaina turned around, a stricken expression on her face. "Oh, ancestors, have I done it again?"
Daniel shook his head. "Done what?"
The Red Sister began to wring her hands nervously, pacing back and forth. "It is the same crime which led to my exile. My intentions were... but the results... I thought I knew... but I was wrong... and the consequences..."
"What are you talking about?" Daniel and Vala chorused, then looked at one another in mild surprise.
"When I lived on the world of Avalon... I met the Lady Gwenhwyfar, wife to Arturis of Caerllion. I was not... aware... of the importance humans placed on mating rights, and upon sensing the way she and Llwch Llenlleawg felt about one another, I... I fear I encouraged them to betray Arturis." Alaina looked up then, worrying at her lower lip. "I thought I sensed a... bond... between you, but I was mistaken. Please, ignore me."
Part 3