Fic: L is for Lesson
Title/Prompt: L is for Lesson
Fandom: SG-1
Rating: G
Summary:i>The object of the game is simple. You start with this rock, and see if you can trade it in for something bigger or better.
Wordcount: ~850
Authors Notes: Written for the SG-1 Gen Day Vala Alphabet Soup
One part of what was originally a five-part fic. Life over the holiday season unfortunately got away from me. I will post the rest, but this scene can stand on it's own for the sake of the fest. Huge thanks to sixbeforelunch, hariboo_smirks, and a few other people who responded to my frantic last-minute calls for people to beta this in it's (unfinished) state while I was still trying to complete it. The reality is, though, that this is still pretty rough, and I'll gladly claim any mistakes...
It started with just one small rock. Vala looked at it closely and then held it out towards the midday sun, her eyes widening as the sun glistened off of it's surface.
"Is it a diamond?" Vala looked up at her father as she asked, wide-eyed and innocent.
Her father smiled, and reached down to ruffle her hair. "Not yet."
Vala's eyes narrowed again. "How can a rock turn into a diamond?"
A huge grin broke out on her father's face. "That, my dear, is what I plan to teach you today."
A short while later, her hand fisted around the rock as if it were already as valuable as a diamond, Vala stood alone in the middle of the crowded market, and tried not to panic. The object of the game is simple, her father's voice echoed in her mind even while she shrunk down to make herself even smaller in the sea of people. You start with this rock, and see if you can trade it in for something bigger or better.
A delicious scent drifted through the dull rank of too-hot, too-crowded bodies and for a moment, Vala forgot all about her task. Looking up, she saw a man in a stall across the street had just pulled pies out of a hearth. The pies were always her favourite part about these outings with her father, fresh and hot and overflowing with seasoned fruit. Licking her lips, Vala took determined steps until she reached the stall. It wasn't until she was standing there, her mouth open to make her request, that Vala remembered that the object in her hand was still just a rock. Maybe one day it would be a diamond, but right now, it wasn't even a bronze coin.
"Whatta you want, girlie?"
Vala's grip tightened once again on the rock in her hand.
"Well? You're holding up the line."
Vala took a deep breath, and found herself sticking her hands into her pocket, ready to slink away in embarrassment. It was at that point that she felt it, and remembered.
Here, take this, and pick up some oakroot serum for your sister while you're out her step-mother had insisted. The last thing Vala had wanted to do during her day with her father was buy stinky cream for her step-sister to slather onto her pimply face, but it wasn't like she was actually being given a choice.
"Ok, either order something or get out of here."
"I'll take a berry pie, please." Vala's voice rang out stronger than she had expected it to as she pulled out the coin in her pocket.
The piemaker snorted and slapped a pie down on the counter, and Vala passed over her coin.
Vala took her pie, and sat down to enjoy it while contemplating exactly how to win this game her father had challenged her to. She was about to dig into her third slice when it occurred to her. After taking a moment to savour one last mouthful, it was time for the show to begin.
Coughing and wheezing and generally making enough of a commotion to draw the eye of half the people in the room from that alone, Vala stood up, bracing her hands against the table as she did her best imitation of her step-sister that one time she tried to stuff an entire pheasant's wing into her mouth, and ended up nearly choking to death in the process. She succeeds in bringing at least half a dozen people to her side, including one woman who proceeded to wrap her rather capable arms around Vala's chest and began squeezing at regular intervals.
Deciding that bruised ribs were more than she had initially bargained for, Vala decided it was time for her to move on to the next act. Gasping for air a few times was enough to get the woman to release her, and Vala was pleased to note she was able to drag out a few tears after squeezing her eyes shut for a moment.
"Dearie, are you alright?"
"What happened?"
"Do you need a drink of water?"
"No, what she needs is space, you idiot."
Vala looked up then, that last voice belonging to the woman who'd just assaulted her in the interest of keeping her alive. Probably her best choice for a champion, all things considered.
"There was a rock in the pie!" Vala managed to break up her words with a few sobs.
The crowds around her gasped, and Vala sobbed again to keep the grin off her face "The baker, he put it in there on purpose because he, because he d-didn't like me."
"What?!" The baker was still behind the counter, but clearly paying attention to what was going on.
The crowds murmured in disapproval, and sure enough, Vala's chosen champion marched over and began a diatribe on how Vala could died, and how would he have felt if that had happened. Vala buried her head in her arms on the table, unsure of her ability to keep the smirk off of her face.
She walks out of the bakery with a smile on her face and two coins jingling together in her pocket.
It's not a diamond - not yet - but it's a start.
Please comment, or check out my other SG-1 fic here.
Fandom: SG-1
Rating: G
Summary:i>The object of the game is simple. You start with this rock, and see if you can trade it in for something bigger or better.
Wordcount: ~850
Authors Notes: Written for the SG-1 Gen Day Vala Alphabet Soup
One part of what was originally a five-part fic. Life over the holiday season unfortunately got away from me. I will post the rest, but this scene can stand on it's own for the sake of the fest. Huge thanks to sixbeforelunch, hariboo_smirks, and a few other people who responded to my frantic last-minute calls for people to beta this in it's (unfinished) state while I was still trying to complete it. The reality is, though, that this is still pretty rough, and I'll gladly claim any mistakes...
It started with just one small rock. Vala looked at it closely and then held it out towards the midday sun, her eyes widening as the sun glistened off of it's surface.
"Is it a diamond?" Vala looked up at her father as she asked, wide-eyed and innocent.
Her father smiled, and reached down to ruffle her hair. "Not yet."
Vala's eyes narrowed again. "How can a rock turn into a diamond?"
A huge grin broke out on her father's face. "That, my dear, is what I plan to teach you today."
A short while later, her hand fisted around the rock as if it were already as valuable as a diamond, Vala stood alone in the middle of the crowded market, and tried not to panic. The object of the game is simple, her father's voice echoed in her mind even while she shrunk down to make herself even smaller in the sea of people. You start with this rock, and see if you can trade it in for something bigger or better.
A delicious scent drifted through the dull rank of too-hot, too-crowded bodies and for a moment, Vala forgot all about her task. Looking up, she saw a man in a stall across the street had just pulled pies out of a hearth. The pies were always her favourite part about these outings with her father, fresh and hot and overflowing with seasoned fruit. Licking her lips, Vala took determined steps until she reached the stall. It wasn't until she was standing there, her mouth open to make her request, that Vala remembered that the object in her hand was still just a rock. Maybe one day it would be a diamond, but right now, it wasn't even a bronze coin.
"Whatta you want, girlie?"
Vala's grip tightened once again on the rock in her hand.
"Well? You're holding up the line."
Vala took a deep breath, and found herself sticking her hands into her pocket, ready to slink away in embarrassment. It was at that point that she felt it, and remembered.
Here, take this, and pick up some oakroot serum for your sister while you're out her step-mother had insisted. The last thing Vala had wanted to do during her day with her father was buy stinky cream for her step-sister to slather onto her pimply face, but it wasn't like she was actually being given a choice.
"Ok, either order something or get out of here."
"I'll take a berry pie, please." Vala's voice rang out stronger than she had expected it to as she pulled out the coin in her pocket.
The piemaker snorted and slapped a pie down on the counter, and Vala passed over her coin.
Vala took her pie, and sat down to enjoy it while contemplating exactly how to win this game her father had challenged her to. She was about to dig into her third slice when it occurred to her. After taking a moment to savour one last mouthful, it was time for the show to begin.
Coughing and wheezing and generally making enough of a commotion to draw the eye of half the people in the room from that alone, Vala stood up, bracing her hands against the table as she did her best imitation of her step-sister that one time she tried to stuff an entire pheasant's wing into her mouth, and ended up nearly choking to death in the process. She succeeds in bringing at least half a dozen people to her side, including one woman who proceeded to wrap her rather capable arms around Vala's chest and began squeezing at regular intervals.
Deciding that bruised ribs were more than she had initially bargained for, Vala decided it was time for her to move on to the next act. Gasping for air a few times was enough to get the woman to release her, and Vala was pleased to note she was able to drag out a few tears after squeezing her eyes shut for a moment.
"Dearie, are you alright?"
"What happened?"
"Do you need a drink of water?"
"No, what she needs is space, you idiot."
Vala looked up then, that last voice belonging to the woman who'd just assaulted her in the interest of keeping her alive. Probably her best choice for a champion, all things considered.
"There was a rock in the pie!" Vala managed to break up her words with a few sobs.
The crowds around her gasped, and Vala sobbed again to keep the grin off her face "The baker, he put it in there on purpose because he, because he d-didn't like me."
"What?!" The baker was still behind the counter, but clearly paying attention to what was going on.
The crowds murmured in disapproval, and sure enough, Vala's chosen champion marched over and began a diatribe on how Vala could died, and how would he have felt if that had happened. Vala buried her head in her arms on the table, unsure of her ability to keep the smirk off of her face.
She walks out of the bakery with a smile on her face and two coins jingling together in her pocket.
It's not a diamond - not yet - but it's a start.
Please comment, or check out my other SG-1 fic here.