All In The Translation -- Daniel's Abydonian Diary
All In The Translation -- Daniel's Abydonian Diary
by K. Siegfried (Niamh)
TITLE: All In The Translation -- Daniel's Abydonian Diary
AUTHOR: K. Siegfried (Niamh)
EMAIL:sg1flygirl@yahooorksiegfried@henry.wells.edu
CATEGORY: Drama
SPOILERS: Stargate the movie
SEASON / SEQUEL: Before season 1
RATING: PG
CONTENT WARNINGS: None
SUMMARY: Daniel's reminiscing over how he met Sha'uri.
ARCHIVE: Heliopolis
DISCLAIMER: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. We have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the authors. Not to be archived without permission of the authors.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Now begins the daunting task of translating all of those glyphs.
I have gotten used to the heat a bit; still cannot stand direct sunlight for more than an hour though, but the intense nausea has passed. I feel like a normal human being again. In this dilapidated crypt, I'm a little bit like a kid with a bottomless cookie jar. The goodies just reappear around every corner.
Pencils are a precious commodity that I guard with my life; the erasers, with my soul! I think the only ballpoint pen I had with me blew up on Ra's ship along with every reference book I brought with me. And with writing being taboo on Abydos for so long, it will be a while before I find the correct ingredients to create my own ink. When I come to that bridge ....
I can't help but smile, thinking of how I came about this vault that first night in the village. Kasuf had welcomed us, of course not knowing any better than to think we were Gods. Too bad the damn military almost shot all of them because they had shut the doors behind us. Good thing Skaara was there to calm Jack down and show him the reason, or I have had some major explaining to do to my father-in-law. Father-in-law. Now that's a strange concept.
Things just progressively got stranger from there. I was trying my best to act like a gracious guest, eating something that looked like a colossal pregnant armadillo. Jack, Kawalsky, and Ferretti were disgusted with the idea but it wasn't that bad. Tasted like chicken, really! Felt like I was in some Shakespeare play though, with the cast of groundlings behind me, watching in awe at our every move, Skaara mimicking Jack like a shadow.
So I had lied. Well, not really. I could get us home if I found the cover stone, just hadn't yet. Jack was a little more than clear that I had to find that stone or they'd be feeding me in little bits to that putrid smelling mastadge that had dragged me half across the planet. Thinking definitely that getting over the language barrier was much better than death-by-slobber, I approached Kasuf, drawing the Eye of Ra in the sand. I couldn't quite understand the man's shock as he snuffed out the symbol, quickly rising to command a fleet of women to surround me.
Have you ever had some strange furrowed woman stick her hand down your shirt? Oh my. They had my shoes stripped from both feet, socks removed, sponge in hand, scrubbing on every exposed piece of skin until I felt it was approaching harassment. I sent them away as politely as I could; overwhelmed by the stench that wafted up from the bed I was sitting on, realizing that it was the blanket. Not much of a room; very spartan but comfortable, a few personal affects hanging from the adobe walls and hand built furniture.
Then a Goddess walked in.
And the moron that I am thought she was there to prod me some more.
She was nervous and doe-eyed, shrinking into herself as if she was afraid to be in the same room with me. Through that strange haze, I saw her face, and it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Her blue eyes focused in on mine, the soft curls of her hair shading her face and at that moment, the whole world could see my dental secrets by how far my jaw dropped.
Without flinching, she lowered the lavender gown from her shoulders, as if it was expected from her to do so.
Hello.
I don't know who was more embarrassed; her or I. Okay me, definitely it was me. She looked upset that I wanted her to put her clothes back on and quickly I tried to shuffle her back out again. Pulling back the cloth over the door, I motioned to her but Kasuf's cry startled me. He looked absolutely horrified and she was on the verge of tears. Oh God. He asked her a heated question and she shied away as she answered, and I could only guess at the conversation. Wanting to save this woman from the embarrassment, I threw my arm around her shoulders in grand style, bowing my head at Kasuf.
"I just wanted to say, thank you."
Okay, I could handle this. Here was a poor soul who believed she was supposed to be my concubine for the evening and her father outside, encouraging it! Drawing her back inside, I set her on the bed and paced.Start with the basics, Daniel.
"Daniel." I crouched in front of her. She recoiled, her hands lifting to nervously play in a curl.
"Dani-el." She said and her eyes lowered to Catherine's necklace. Shaking my head, I tucked it into my shirt.
"Daniel." Touching my chest, I looked at her.I'm just a man, not a God.
"Sha'uri." She nodded slightly, spreading a hand across her chest.
"Sha'uri." The sound her name made across my tongue was palatable in the most fulfilling way to my ears. A becoming name for a beautiful Goddess. Sha'uri. I repeated it in my head, the smile across my face increasing, knowing I had made my first friend.
My fingers play in the sand I'm sitting on, tracing out a heart in an adolescent fixation, my mind distracted from the notebook in front of me. I have lost all concentration on the translations. I can't even hear her approach I'm so charmed with the memories spinning in my head.
"Dani-el." Her angelic voice is above me and her fingers tickle my sides.
"Jesus!" The notebook snaps shut, echoing the sound through the crypt, and I attempt to make my heart lower from my throat to its proper resting place in my chest. Giggling, she sinks to the sand next to me, looking down at my lazy drawings. Her finger begins to trace over the heart.
"Sha'uri, you scared me!"
"I know, Dani-el. You were too busy thinking. I was quiet so you couldn't hear me."
"If you do too much of that, you know, there's not going to be anybody to scare." Smiling, I lean my shoulder into hers, and she starts to laugh.
"Dani-el, don't. You'll push me over." I concede, leaning back so I can raise a hand to pull a pile of dark curls from her face. Blushing, she lowers her head.
"Sha'uri, why are you embarrassed?" It's perplexing how she could be more embarrassed when I touch her like I do now, than she was disrobing for me. She slowly shakes her head and maybe it's because I am doing it purposefully. Maybe she still thinks I don't want her like she did when I found out we were actually married according to Abydonian custom.
"Married?" My hand covered hers at the grinding stone.
"Yes, but I didn't tell them." Sha'uri's eyes quickly darted between the pile of grain before her and my eyes.
"Tell them what?" Risking a nervous smile, her eyes finally rested on mine.
"That you - " She licked her lips, gathering courage. "That you didn't want me."Oh. My. God. So that's what that was in the ... oh shit.And this poor creature was berating herself over the fact that she was married to a husband that did not want her through no fault of his own. I searched for a way to tell her she was wrong. The only way that came to mind was to kiss her. And I did.
"Sha'uri?" My wife, my Goddess, is beside me now, playing in the sand, obviously uncomfortable that I'm giving her so much attention. Her head turns to me, attentive to her name, and she bites her lip.
"Please don't be embarrassed around me." Raising my hand to her face, I curl a finger against her chin, running my thumb against her lower lip. A faint flush rises to her cheeks, but her eyes don't move from mine. "I want you to be happy when you're with me."
"But I am, Dani-el!" She protests, raising a hand to grasp my arm. "I am! I am just a little - "
"Shy?" I offer.
"Yes. I've never had a husband before. I don't know if I am making you happy." I sigh and she frowns, thinking she has disserviced me. Obviously Abydonians didn't see marriage as a fifty-fifty exchange. Christ, some Americans I know don't see it that way either. I'm feeling a long lecture brew from the pit of my stomach.
"Sha'uri, I don't want you to ever do something you feel you need to do. I want you to do things that you want to do." I can tell I'm not quite getting through, so I regroup and think of a better way to put it.
"Where I come from, marriage is about giving and receiving. If one person is doing more giving than receiving, than it's not the way it is supposed to be. Both husband and wife have equal shares and equal responsibility to the other. I'm getting the impression that you, as my wife, are supposed to wait on me hand and foot, making sure that I want for nothing." She nods enthusiastically and I close my eyes, releasing a breath. This could be so easy to take advantage of ....
"But Sha'uri, I don't want that." The furrow in her brow creases and she looks at me in curiosity. "I want to make sure you want for nothing too. I want to bring you nice things, take care of you when you're sick like you did for me, sneak up on you to tickle." My other hand darts for her ribs, and she squirms, giggling.
"You'd do that for me, Dani-el?" Her eyes widen in disbelief.
"In a heartbeat, Sha'uri." Somewhere within, I wonder why I love this woman like I do, especially after knowing her for less than a month. Why she brings out feelings inside me I have locked away as I so desperately try to keep my sanity over the years. Why I am suddenly bearing my heart to her instead of my intellectual competence as I had with other women I was trying to impress. Is it because she bears her soul every time she looks at me or speaks my name that I am compelled to return the favor? I don't know and probably never will. Her charms are an enigma to me.
She lifts her hands to my face, laying each against my cheeks. It is almost overpowering, her naked love.
"I want to make you happy, Sha'uri. Will you let me?" I practically choke on the words as they fumble out of my mouth.
"Oh Dani-el." The corners of her mouth curl, a slow smile seeping across her face. Cautiously she leans forward, initiating a kiss. I melt before her.
If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to K. Siegfried (Niamh)
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