Archive of Our Own

The Shield and the Puddlejumper.
Author: Fenchurch

Genre: Fairy tale

Warnings: Some gratuitous kissing and a happy ending. It’s an AU – surprisingly!

It’s a Cinderella (or ‘Rodneyrella’ as Rieval calls it!), but based on the film The Slipper and the Rose.

Beta'd by the Great and Glorious [info]goddess47

Dedicated to Rieval... pour fêter ton anniversaire (un peu tard) et pour te remercier d'être venue fêter le mien!
***

Chapter One

“Right, that’s that!” Commander Kolya pulled off his gloves and dark cloak to reveal a bright scarlet jacket and blue britches.

Rodney gasped. It wasn’t standard funeral wear and they had just been attending the funeral of the Commander’s husband, Rodney’s father.

When Rodney turned to look at his step-brother and step-sister, he realised that they too had worn startling colours under their dark cloaks. His parents were not their parents and there hadn’t been much love lost between them all, but Commander Kolya’s marriage had restored his fortunes and… and it had been his husband’s funeral!

“I hate dark colours,” Michael complained. “They make me look washed out.”

“No, your pale face and blond hair make you look washed out!” Larryn told him cattily. “I look good in pretty much any colour!”

“Papa! Are you going to let her speak to me like that?” Michael appealed to Kolya.

“Like what?” Larryn asked indignantly.

Rodney sighed and removed his own cloak. Draping it over his arm, he headed for the stairs, but his Stepfather’s voice halted him.

“And where do you think you’re going?”

Rodney breathed deeply and then said, as politely as possible. “I am going to my room.”

His Stepsiblings exchanged amused glances and spoke together, sniggering.

“His room!”

“Cut that out, you two,” Kolya commanded. “You no longer have a room in this house.”

“I… excuse me?” Rodney asked, confused.

“Your father left everything to me. All his clothes, money, jewellery, assets and this castle are all mine now. You have nothing.”

“You tricked him!” Rodney accused angrily. “You made him change his will!”

“Yes,” Kolya agreed, blatantly. “I made him fall in love with me and I made him change his will. If he hadn’t died of natural causes, I would have killed him.”

Rodney, who was not a fighter of any kind, flew at his Stepfather and got a couple of solid hits in, before Michael and Kolya, between them, got him under control.

“That’s enough of that!” Kolya sneered. Michael forced Rodney to his knees and kept him there. “Now, listen very carefully. Your father left everything to me and that includes you. I have sacked the staff – they were useless and cost far too much to keep. You are now the staff.”

“To wash and scrub and cook and clean!” Larryn crowed.

“To take orders instead of giving them!” Michael added gleefully.

“In your dreams!” Rodney spat and struggled.

“No, you see, there is no one left on this planet. I made them all leave. I shall order in any provisions we need and of course we three can still come and go and do as we please, but I have removed the control crystal from the Dialler. There is only one way off this planet and I control it. I will never remove this pouch from around my neck and you have no way to escape.” Kolya picked up a leather bag that hung around his neck and Rodney could see the crystal glinting within. “Besides, even if you did get away, what would you do? Where would you go? You are too rude to have friends and you have no discernable skills… except perhaps your questionable interest in… in Science!” Kolya laughed derisively. “No, you are stuck here, and if you wish to eat then you will work. So, off to the kitchen with you!”

Kolya grabbed Rodney’s arm and between his stepbrother and stepfather, Rodney was manhandled towards the kitchens and literally thrown down the stairs.

Kolya dusted his hands as though they had been contaminated in some way.

“I’m hungry. Burying spouses really takes it out of you, you know, and I should… I’ve buried two wives and a husband now.” He smirked at Rodney’s fury. “Have a meal ready for us by five o’clock, or else we shall come down and beat you. Remember that I still have that lemon in my pocket and that your death will only mean that we go and buy ourselves a slave in your place. Now, get working!”

The door slammed and Rodney looked around at the small, homely kitchen where he had spent many happy hours. It was true that Rodney was too abrasive to win friends among the nobility, but here, among the staff, he had belonged. They had played with him, when his father forgot he existed, and they had let him make his scientific discoveries down here when they were forbidden upstairs. The cook had often helped him to get the equipment he needed in the past and they had all helped to set up his lab in one of the outhouses.

Now, though, the place was empty. The laughter that had made it such a warm and cosy place was gone and in its stead there was an eerie silence.

Rodney thought about his options and quickly came to the conclusion that, until he found a way to escape, he was stuck here. It was all too much. He sat down on the lowest step and buried his face in his hands. When his father had married Kolya, he had been excited about having a brother and sister, especially as the brother was supposed to be some kind of scientist, but it quickly became obvious that Michael was only interested in making money out of science and not in the process itself. They were horrible and his father had had even less time for him than before.

Now it was worse. Now he had nothing. Even Carson, his tutor and godfather, had gone away, and he was left alone. He allowed a few tears to escape his eye before telling himself, rather sternly, that seventeen year olds did not cry under any circumstances, and he got up and began to plan dinner.

*******

Prince John hesitated before stepping through the Stargate.

“Hey, what’s up?” his valet and bodyguard grunted.

“Here we go again,” the Prince sighed. “Every time I come home they make a huge fuss. I bet they didn’t do this for Dave.”

“It’s ‘cos you are the only one they’ve got left,” Ronon shrugged. “You’re the Prince.”

“Yeah, but I’m still just me.”

“Go through or I’ll push you!” Ronon threatened, good-naturedly.

“Thanks,” John replied sarcastically as he straightened his shoulders and stepped through the gate.

A hundred voices cheered as John re-materialised in the ‘gate room. There was a fanfare going on and the city lit up like Christmas tree lights to see her favourite son come home.

The Sheppards were direct descendants of the Ancients, that mystical race of people who had built the beautiful city of Atlantis, and so John was the heir to the throne where sat the King of Pegasus. Over the years, the shining city had become the centre of all things in the galaxy, especially since the defeat of the Wraith – a terrifying race of vampiric mutants that had previously terrorised the people of the Pegasus Galaxy.

Ever since John’s grandfather had managed to be King while this feat was performed (although to hear Grandfather tell it, you’d have thought he was actually there at the time!), Atlantis had ruled the galaxy.

Of course, John knew that the galaxy pretty much ran itself, but there was unity and coherence with a Royal Family and however much John might want to fight it, he was a public figurehead. When people saw him, they saw security and law and order… and a rather nice young man with wild hair that they’d like their children to marry…

A lady in a fine red dress stood next to a strange-looking man in a dark suit and pressed shirt on the balcony over-looking the ‘gate room. While all around bowed to the Prince, John nodded at the Regents.

“Aunt Elizabeth, Woolsey!” he acknowledged.

“Welcome home, Prince John,” Elizabeth grinned widely. “You are just in time for the start of the grand banquet.”

“Banquet,” John repeated unenthusiastically. “Any particular reason?”

“Why, to celebrate your engagement to the Lady Mara, of course.”

“Kneel, Prince John.” Woolsey suddenly appeared at his elbow.

“What? Why?”

“We have decided that you deserve a grand honour for this auspicious occasion. The impending marriage of the Crown Prince of Atlantis is one of the greatest events in the life of your city. This wedding will ensure the succession and allow you, Your Royal Highness, Prince John, to ascend the throne of our Ancestors as King.”

John would have bet money on Woolsey having practised that little speech over and over again in preparation.

“There is no auspicious…” John tried, but he was manhandled by the Lord Chamberlain over to a cushion on the steps where his aunt, the Lady Regent of Atlantis, was waiting with a large medal.

“You, Prince John, shall henceforth be known as….”

“Aunt Elizabeth, I…”

“Knight Commander of the Royal Order of the…”

“I didn’t ask her…”

“Royal Order of the Staircase,” Elizabeth repeated firmly, putting the ribbon around the Prince’s neck.

“Isn’t that usually awarded posthumously?” John asked, but was unheeded.

“Now, rise and I kiss you on both cheeks.” Elizabeth did that. “You know, I sometimes award medals to a whole battalion!” She confided to her nephew and John sighed.

“Can I get up now?” he asked as the court of Atlantis clapped and cheered. “Aunt Elizabeth, will you please listen to me?”

“But the banquet is about to begin and you must accompany…”

“ELIZABETH!” John shouted and suddenly there was silence.

“Yes ,John?”

“I didn’t want to do this in front of the court…. Look, I went to The Tower and I met Mara, but…”

“Yes John, I know. That’s why we’re having this… “

“There should be no celebration. There is no reason to celebrate!”

Woolsey stepped up to stand next to Elizabeth.

“She turned you down?” the Chamberlain asked.

“No, she did not turn me down.”

“Then that’s alright…”

“No, Woolsey, it is not! She didn’t turn me down - I didn’t ask!”

There was a gasp from all those who were still left attending the Prince. Most of the court had gone on to dinner.

“Why not?” Elizabeth asked. “Did she not have the gene?”

“Oh yes, she had the gene. Not a very strong one, in fact it was pretty weak, but she had it.”

“Was she not pretty?” Woolsey asked. “You were very insistent that we find an ATA noble with good looks.”

“She was pretty enough, but… look, I want a partner who can match me in conversation, who can beat me at chess… I want someone intelligent!”

“Lady Mara wasn’t bright enough for you?” Elizabeth asked crossly.

“No! She barely has a brain! She threw herself at me! It was… horrible!”

“Why would having a pretty lady throwing herself at you be horrible?” Woolsey asked, but everyone ignored him.

“I couldn’t bear to spend my life with someone like that!”

“Why on earth not? I’m told she has perfect court manners.”

“Yes Elizabeth, I’m sure she has… Look, I know it sounds cheesy, but… I want to marry for love.”

John sighed. He should have predicted the response from his guardian and chief advisor. They both rounded on him and spoke together.

“What has love got to do with being married?” Elizabeth asked.

“It’s your duty to marry, Prince John.” Woolsey said.

“You lucky bastard!”

A gloriously dressed man with a long pony tail and sparkles and ribbons everywhere approached and John sighed.

“Oh crap! Who let him in?” Prince John mumbled sotto voce, then turned to his cousin. “What is it, Kav?”

“You get to pick the best of the bunch and yet you always turn them down!”

“Look, Kav, if you want them…”

“But they don’t want me! They want you” the Duke of Kavanaugh accused with an extravagant gesture. “You have the title and the looks and I get your leavings!”

Woolsey took John by the arm and led him away.

“Your highness, that’s the price we have to pay unless you do your duty and get married.” The Chamberlain indicated Kavanaugh with a nod of the head.

“I know and I understand my duty, and believe me when I say that I would do many things to prevent Kav becoming king, but I can’t marry without love. I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

“Then you should do as your father and your uncle did, and all your ancestors.”

John whirled furiously and waggled a finger at his aunt.

“Don’t you dare! Don’t you even think about it! I’m glad that I had Dave as a brother, but I refuse to marry someone just for show and then have a lover as well. That’s just not… I just can’t… and you can’t make me!”

“John!” Elizabeth tried, but John had swept out.

“Ronon!” Woolsey called as the giant went to follow his master. “You have the task of convincing him.”

“Sorry, can’t do that!” Ronon smiled in his irritatingly relaxed way. “I’m just a servant.”

With an amused grin, the giant jogged to catch up with the prince.

***

In his own room, John took the ridiculous medal off and threw it at his couch.

“Am I wrong Ronon?” he asked, knowing that Ronon would be following him.

“Don’t ask me.”

“If I am supposed to sleep with someone and have children with them, then why should I not love them? What kind of morals are we espousing here?”

“I hate it when you use big words.” Ronon grunted and John couldn’t hold onto his anger.

Chuckling, he sat down on his bed and pulled out a comic.

“Hey!”

“Yeah Ronon?” John looked at his valet over his comic.

“I wouldn’t have married her either.”

John just laughed.

******

Months passed. Winter came and went and the flowers began to reappear on the planet where Rodney lived.

Rodney’s days were filled with work and, even though he had invented several machines that helped him in his horrendous task (his favourite being the Automatic Pot Washer), he spent most of his nights sleeping the sleep of the exhausted.

Even with the Dust-gatherer, the Floor-polisher and the Electric-water-boiler, there was always still a mountain of things to be done.

He cleaned the castle from top to bottom, he cooked all the meals, he washed and mended clothes, he looked after the livestock and was generally kept busy from dawn until dusk. He was lonely, fed-up and angry as hell that he hadn’t managed to escape yet. He just hadn’t been able to find a way of getting his hands on that crystal, and so he had had to stay in the castle, being abused and over-worked by his stepfamily.

Then, of an evening, when he had finally put away all the pots and fed all the animals, he was expected to go and ‘assist’ Michael with the inventions that Michael would then sell in the off-world markets.

Rodney tried to teach Michael to be better at designing machines, but the man wanted only to make money from the inventions and he really didn’t care that it was Rodney who did all the work - so long as the damned things did what they were supposed to and Michael could sell them.

Finally, tired and lonely, Rodney would drag himself to his bed in the corner of the kitchen and fall asleep, mostly without undressing first. Sometimes, during the winter months when the snow and sub-zero temperatures made getting the wind powered generator de-iced and started and generally venturing outside a horrible experience, he had taken to wrapping himself up in the blankets from his bed and then stretching out by the fire for warmth. It didn’t matter how ingenious his designs for heaters were, the castle was a pain to heat and the kitchen was always freezing.

His choice of venue for sleeping meant that he often had smudges of dust on his nose, but he growled dangerously when Larryn had started making up nicknames for him (such as Dusty, or Rusty Rodney), and she had eventually given up.

The worst part of it was that he never, ever saw anyone other than his stepfamily, and they obviously detested him as much as he detested them. It made him feel as though the whole universe must loathe him, and that made him despair of ever making things better.

Sometimes he would try to act as though his stepfather’s derision didn’t hurt, but, while Rodney knew that he was vastly intelligent, his confidence was being constantly knocked and he began to doubt himself. Then he would do everything he possibly could to please Kolya, gaining nothing but further insults from him.

He didn’t even bother trying to please Larryn, who was basically a b…witch.

When the first snowdrops peeped above the snow and the days began to lengthen a little, Rodney’s heart grew a little lighter. Maybe he would soon be able to figure out a way to steal that control crystal, or maybe Kolya would let up and allow Rodney to have some time to himself? Maybe he could finally work out how to grow his own crystals? He had heard that it was possible to create an over-ride crystal…

Once the days became warm enough to go outside, Rodney decided that the cleaning could look after itself for a while and he could get outside. If he could collect enough flowers together, from the meagre spring buds, he could even go and honour his parents’ graves. After all, no one else would.

He went to the glade where his mother, father and little sister were buried and sat on a fallen branch in front of their headstones, reflecting.

Once upon a time, Rodney had been loved. His little sister had been quite adorable, until the illness came that wiped out his mother as well. His mother had been strict and brilliant, but Rodney had learned such a lot from her and he still missed the woman. His father had been more interested in fashion and money, but he had doted on Jeannie, and he had sometimes smiled at Rodney too. They had not been a very close or demonstrative family, but there had been a quiet acceptance of each other’s place in the castle and they had understood each other.

Now all that was gone. There was no one left to care whether Rodney lived or died and…

There was a bizarre tramping sound coming towards the glade, and Rodney sprang to his feet. It didn’t sound like an animal, ferocious or otherwise, as the tread was too even and heavy. He only had moments to hide, before two men with astonishing hair burst into the clearing, running at an even pace, but not fast enough to be running away from anything. Rodney was puzzled enough to watch from behind his tree as the two men stopped and one of them bent over, clearly exhausted.

“You OK?” asked the one with weird sprouting hair that seemed to grow out of his head like snakes.

“Yeah!” the other one, the one with gravity-defying hair that shouldn’t have been artful… but was, huffed.

“You sure?” Snake-Hair asked a bit sarcastically. “We can always go back to the ‘jumper and go home for a rest.”

“Just… just… you know… peachy!” Spiky-Hair straightened up and shrugged one shoulder.

“You stopped.”

“Yeah… I just wondered about those gravestones.” Spiky-Hair hobbled over to look at Rodney’s father’s grave.

“What is it with you and gravestones?” Snake-Hair grunted, amused.

“One of the memories I have of my dear Papa,” Spiky-Hair responded sarcastically. “When I was about five or six… not much taller than those gravestones… he took me to the family vault. He pointed at this large marble tablet and said ‘That’s yours, son.’”

Snake-Hair grinned widely. “Very educational!”

“Yeah, well, he told me that it really didn’t matter how I lived or how I died, whatever I do with my life, I will end up there – underneath that slab of marble.”

“They didn’t really go in for humor in your family, huh?”

“No, not their strong point!” Spiky-Hair chuckled, then he crouched down and inspected the stones in front of him.

“Meredith Jeannie McKay, brilliant wife and mother,” he read aloud. “Jeannie McKay, beloved daughter and sister,” Spiky-Hair moved onto the last one and Rodney mouthed the words along with him. “Rodney McKay-Kolya, husband of Commander Kolya. Hey, Ronon, look at this. This Rodney lost his wife and daughter and then married again. I wonder how the remaining sibling, or siblings, feels about that. And look, his new husband is more bothered about leaving his own name behind than venerating his spouse’s.”

“Yeah,” Snake-Hair - Ronon didn’t really sound interested.

“Is it possible to fall in love twice? I mean, maybe Rodney loved both his spouses? Or maybe he didn’t really love the second one.”

“Does it really matter?”

“No… well, I guess it matters a lot to the last sibling. He or she has to live with his or her stepfather.”

“You have to live with your aunt, and we both know the Regent is not the most loving of parents.”

“Oh no no no!” Rodney didn’t realize he’d made a noise, but he was vastly intelligent and he realized that he was listening to a conversation between Prince John of Atlantis and Ronon, the fabled bodyguard of the Heir Apparent.

“What was that?” John asked and Ronon detached a gun from his belt and headed in the direction of Rodney’s tree.

Rodney had two choices – flight or… well, not fight exactly, maybe ‘action’ was a better word… - he berated himself for time-wasting and ran for it.

He didn’t stop until he arrived back at the castle, where Kolya was waiting for him.

“Where have you been? You are a lazy good-for-nothing!”

“Out.”

“How dare you go out when there are chores to be done?”

“Look, Stepfather, I went out to put some flowers on my mother’s grave and…”

“Flowers? Flowers you stole from me?”

“What? No! I didn’t…”

“Everything on this planet belongs to me, so if you took flowers from me, then you are a thief!”

“Oh no! No! No! No! No! You can’t do that! I didn’t…”

“I say you are a thief, and thieves have to be punished.” Kolya grabbed Rodney by the wrist and pulled him to a cupboard under the stairs, throwing the door open and giving Rodney a shove to push him into the small dark space. “You will stay there until tomorrow morning.”

“No!” Rodney protested, fearfully, as the door closed in front of him. “I’m claustrophobic! You can’t do this!” Kolya locked the door noisily and Rodney started banging on it. “Let me out! Please! Please, let me out… please? I can’t…”

“Shut up, Baby!” Michael’s voice carried easily through the wooden door.

“Please…” Rodney sobbed. “I can’t stay here… I’m… I’ll do anything! Please… please…”

It was fearfully dark in the cupboard and sounds were magnified. Rodney could hear the floorboards creaking, footsteps as the family moved around and forgot about their servant in the cupboard. The wind whistled around the towers and rats scuttled around in the tight spaces between rooms and floors. Rodney twitched with fear at every creak and every sigh, the walls seemed to move around, now closing in, now stretching away into the far distance and Rodney didn’t know which he preferred.

Rodney had no idea of time, either. It may have been several hours later, or maybe a few minutes, but he heard voices in the hallway and he shouted out again.

To his immense relief, the door opened and Rodney was shocked to see the cheery face of his ex-tutor and Godfather.

“What in the name of the Ancestors are you doing in there?”

“Carson! Carson!” Rodney almost wept with relief to be out of that cupboard and he even allowed his godfather to pat him and grasp him by the shoulder. “It’s my Stepfather. He decided to punish me for stealing flowers… as if that was some kind of crime! How did you get here? I thought the Commander had the only crystal.”

“Aye, but he also values me for my doctorin’ and so on.” Carson grinned. “I let him think I was here for him, not for you. Now, why are you dressed so messily and where are all the staff?”

It didn’t take long for Rodney to explain the situation and Carson’s face turned thunderous.

“I’ll find a way for ye, Rodney. I promise.”

“Thank you, Carson, but unless you can steal the crystal for me, I’m pretty much stuck here.”

“You’ll be very lonely.”

“I’m used to that,” Rodney smiled a little. “Besides, I can always go and work on my inventions and they are everything to me.”

“What about your cat?”

“My cat? I don’t have a….” Rodney looked in surprise at the tabby kitten that was tumbling off the messy bed in the corner of the kitchen. He crossed over and picked it up, stroking it softly and listening to the tiny mews. “Where did he come from?”

“I think it’s a she, and she came in when I did.” Carson’s blue eyes twinkled.

“She’s beautiful! Here, have some of this.” He crouched down and mashed a bit of chicken onto a small plate, grinning when the kitten attacked it ravenously.

“Now, you need to sit and eat. Your hypoglycemia won’t sort itself out on its own!”

Rodney’s attention was caught by the fire suddenly picking up. He wondered, momentarily, if the door opening had sent more air up the chimney, causing more oxygen to… then he remembered that he was hungry.

“I don’t have much, but would you like to share a meal with me? I’ve got some left-over chicken and some root vegetables.”

“Thanks, Rodney, but I have food waiting for me at home. Now look after yourself and Cat. Make sure you eat properly.”

“Yes Godfather!” Rodney rolled his eyes.

Carson grinned and patted Rodney’s shoulder and Rodney’s spirits were lifted up. It seemed that perhaps there was one person in the world who liked him.

“Hey!” he called out, and Carson stopped and turned. “Shut the door on your way out! It’s freezing out there!”

Carson chuckled and closed the door behind him.

***

After that, Rodney would sneak out as often as he could manage to see if he could spot the prince and his bodyguard… well, they called it ‘jogging’. They came fairly often, flying in a strange pod and by-passing the gate altogether, and Rodney loved to hide in the glade where his parents were buried, waiting for them to pass through. Sometimes they didn’t stop, but mostly the Prince was tired enough to call for a rest, and at these times they would sit and talk.

Ronon, the bodyguard and valet, didn’t really talk much, but he listened to the Prince, and Rodney could really understand that. The man with the amazing hair was fascinating. His views on marriage, love, science, math, fighting and, especially, flying, were so down-to-earth and fair. Rodney would have given anything to spend some time with the man and ask him about his Puddlejumpers, challenge his mathematical theory (which was flawed, but not lacking in ingenuity). How he would have loved to challenge the man to a game of chess (and beat him, obviously).

Rodney was stuck in his own world, however, and all he could do was hide in the branches of the tree and wait, watching, hoping that today the Prince and his man would come to jog. He could always dream that one day Prince John would stop and talk to him, even if it was very unlikely to ever happen.

***

The Lady Elizabeth, Regent of Atlantis, looked around the smooth table at her council. What a strange and rambling bunch of men and women who were, for the most part, past their prime. She had inherited them all when her brother, King Patrick, had died too early, leaving them with a teenaged Prince who was constitutionally not old enough, or married enough to assume the throne. Elizabeth really could not wait until the Prince married and assumed his throne, at which point he could nominate his own council and she could step back, retire and perhaps marry as well. Perhaps this time the bunch of old fools would come up with something.

Richard Woolsey stood and brought the council meeting to order, nodding at Secretary Campbell to signal the start. After a short-ish speech of welcome and a rundown of the previous meetings, Woolsey stated the problem.

“My Ladies, My Lords, we are here to discuss the marriage of Prince John.”

“Hear hear!” a few of the oldest fools called out and Elizabeth contained a sigh of frustration.

“As we all know, he has now turned down six ladies and one lord who all had the gene, and so he remains unmarried and unable to ascend his throne.”

“Silly idiot!” a bluff soldier-type opined and Elizabeth wished that she could fire Colonel Everett.

“He wishes to marry for love,” Elizabeth reminded them all.

“He’s a Prince!” Colonel Ellis protested. “He has no choice, he must marry a lady of our choosing!”

“We may have to force him in the end,” Everett sounded as though he would relish the task.

“It is surely most unfair of us to insist that the Prince marry a lady he does not like,” Lady Teyla of Athos suggested, staring confidently at Everett. “I should be most unwilling to perform such a duty were I forced to it.”

“You’re a lady and he’s a Prince!”

“Thank you, Lord Everett, I am aware of the difference,” Teyla smiled and Elizabeth saw that she was enjoying herself. “However, I am also aware of exactly what we are asking of our Prince. I am firmly of the opinion that he should be allowed a margin of choice, bearing in mind that he must make a politically advantageous match.”

“I don’t understand his problem!” The Duke of Kavanaugh stated and there was a barely perceptible groan from many at the council table. “I’d take any one of them!”

“This is not helping!” Elizabeth intervened quickly. “John has been offered a choice, but he has not agreed to marry any of the ladies we have proposed. He is not opposed to marriage itself, but he wishes to know love.”

“Then he should just marry one of our ladies and find a lover on the side,” Ellis spoke as though this were a perfectly acceptable state of affairs and Elizabeth watched Admiral Caldwell’s mouth clench together in mute disgust.

“We must get our Prince to the altar, Honored Councilors, and I need a plan!” The Regent tried to steer the meeting back on course. Of course, Elizabeth was then treated to the splendid spectacle of a number of grown men and women all frowning as they tried to think.

“I think…” Woolsey suddenly broke into the funny face-pulling of the Councilors, his voice hesitant in a way that Elizabeth was not used to.

“Richard?”

“I think I have a plan,” the Lord Chamberlain announced with a smile of enthusiasm. “I think… a ball!”

“A what?” Lord Sumner asked, derisively.

“A ball! A celebration! An array of choice spread before the Prince!”

“Go on!” Elizabeth encouraged and Woolsey stood and paced as he spoke.

“A ball. Think about it – we invite all the eligible ladies in the galaxy to the ball - anyone we think should be politically attractive – and we tell the Prince that he must choose. He will see all the ladies dressed in their best, doing all they can to show him how attractive they are, and he will dance with them all. He must be given the chance to talk to each one, and then he will make his choice.”

“My Lord Woolsey, you have spoken only of ladies. Are there to be no male contestants?”

“Contestants, Lady Teyla?”

“Why yes,” Teyla nodded, “you speak of inviting people to compete for the hand of the Prince in marriage.”

“I prefer to think of it as an occasion where there will be music, food, splendor and the atmosphere of love, to which our young Prince will be drawn.”

“But you include no male guests?”

“We need to assure the succession,” Elizabeth explained. “There are ways for two men to conceive, but it is not as sure a way as the natural way of the heterosexual couple.”

“I understand, but I feel you may be asking too much of Prince John,” General O’Neill spoke up. “I am admittedly happy with my best of both worlds – both Daniel and Sam – but maybe the Prince isn’t wired like me.”

“It must be a lady,” Woolsey insisted, frowning. “Anything else will announce our weakness and invite war.”

Neither Teyla nor Jack O’Neill looked convinced, but Woolsey took up his plan again.

“It will be a celebration and the guests will be there, under our protection. This means that they will not attack us while staying here, and also that they will be flattered to be invited. Surely this is a very fair way for us to resolve our problems.”

“Any comment?” the Regent asked.

“I remember my first ball…” Chief Scientist Lee said wistfully.

“Yes, Bill… Let’s not stray into the realms of fantasy,” Elizabeth managed to hide her smile.

“What if the Prince does not make a choice?” Teyla asked.

“Then we force him!” Ellis challenged.

Elizabeth grimaced. “Does anyone have any better ideas?”

There was silence.

“Very well then, Councilors. We will hold this ball in the Grand Hall of Atlantis on the Great Feast of the Ancestors in six weeks time. Lord Chamberlain, would you please draw up a list of ladies with the ATA gene, and please see to it that not one is missed out?”

“Of course, my lady.”

“Ellis, O’Neill, Caldwell, Jackson, would you please see to the wording and delivery of the invitations? The rest of you will please start making the arrangements for this… event.”

The Councilors stood and bowed, then they began making their way out of the council chamber, chatting and exchanging anecdotes. The Lady Teyla Emmagen remained, however and she moved to stand behind the regent where she could massage Elizabeth’s tense shoulders.

“I’m not looking forward to telling John,” Elizabeth sighed.

“Who knows?” Teyla asked her friend gently. “Maybe he will find love after all?”

Elizabeth smiled and patted Teyla’s hand, gratefully.

***
***

“No! Absolutely not! No way!”

“Prince John…”

“No, Woolsey! I’m not doing it! I don’t do parties and I’m not going to be the Royal Prize!”

“John, dear…”

“Oh no, Aunt! You can’t charm me into it.”

“John, you do not have a choice,” Elizabeth told him authoritatively. “You are the heir to the throne and you must marry and soon. You are already old enough to mount the throne and many planets are getting restless. There is talk of war. You are the only one with a strong enough gene to be able to work the chair.”

“There’s Lorne!”

“Major Lorne is not a Prince of Atlantis! He can only use the chair under extreme circumstances. Besides, if people think for a second that Atlantis’ defenses have been weakened in any way, then they will take the opportunity to attack. We have power, but it is only political power and we can’t expect to hold that position forever. The only way we can assure peace is if the rightful King sits in the chair with his Consort by his side.”

“Why can’t I just ascend the throne without a Consort?”

Elizabeth sighed and Woolsey stepped forward.

“Your Highness knows why. Your Grandfather had the gene and he used the throne to rid us of the Wraith, but without his Prince Consort, Atlantis would not have responded the way she did. She works best when there are two who direct her.”

“Then let me choose for myself.”

“We have tried that!” Elizabeth’s control over her frustration slipped for a moment. “You have trampled over all our efforts to accommodate you!”

“I mean, let me go and find someone for myself. Don’t make me choose from the ragbag of preening princesses you have forced on me so far! Let me choose from the commoners too!”

“That’s just unconstitutional,” Woolsey frowned. “You are the Crown Prince of Atlantis. The position is honorary and there is an expectation that you marry someone who is worthy of the title of Consort.”

“Then let me choose!” John ground out. “Don’t make me go through this charade! Can’t you see it? I mean it’s a… a… Bride-finding Ball! I mean, all those ladies and gentlemen will be dressed to the nines in the latest of ludicrous fashions, all hoping desperately to catch my eye! They’ll be simpering, silly, showing off and over-doing everything in some desperate hope that they might win me – the Royal Fatted Calf!”

“John…”

“It’ll be splendid!” cried a voice from the corridor outside the Regent’s office.

“Oh…” Elizabeth whispered what sounded like a swear word under her breath. “Who let him in?” She looked up and schooled her face. “Kavanagh.”

“All those ladies prettying themselves up all for the sake of being picked by a Royal! They’ll be dancing and flittering and generally fishing, but the moment you have made your choice, I shall unleash myself!”

“As far as I’m concerned, Kav, you can have first choice.”

“What?”

“You can be the prize, I’ll just sit back and watch.”

“No! NO! You can’t do that!” Kavanagh wailed. “John, you’re the heir… you’re the one who has to marry… they’ll be there for you! I don’t mind that your father was born before mine – I am used to second place, but if you don’t make a choice, then I can’t step in and console any of the losers! I’m counting on you to let a lot of them down!”

John laughed. “That’s just desperate!”

“John…” Elizabeth composed herself and then spoke sternly. “John, I can’t give a choice in this. You have refused to marry any of the ladies you have been presented with and this has angered many of our allied planets. Will you allow stubbornness and personal preference to get in the way of duty and cause war?”

“You really think that my refusing to choose a princess will cause war? Seriously?”

“I am very serious, John.”

The Prince sighed, resigned. “Do it… I mean what’s personal happiness compared to peace and prosperity?”

***

Rodney was lucky enough to be hiding in his tree again when the Prince and Ronon stopped for a rest next to his parents’ graves.

“Have you heard about this latest indignity?” John demanded as he flopped down on his log.

It seemed to Rodney that they had pushed themselves too far and too fast today and the Prince seemed furious about something. Even Ronon looked a little out of breath.

“You mean the Bride-finding Ball?”

“Yeah… that’s the one,” John huffed. “Ronon… am I being unreasonable? I mean any peasant or servant is allowed to take a chance, to find love, but I’m a prince, so I’m not allowed. Is that right?”

“I dunno,” the man mountain grunted.

“I’ve got to go through the whole charade… I’ve got to step out there, dressed up in stiff, ridiculous clothes and smile as though I don’t feel like first prize in the raffle. That’s all I am… a prize!”

“You’re a pretty cool prize,” Ronon grinned and John threw some grass at him.

“How can I possibly find the soul mate of my dreams in ten minutes of formal dancing?”

“Perhaps she or he will just be there… and you’ll know,” the servant suggested.

“Do you believe in love at first sight?”

Rodney was as surprised as the Prince to realize that the man was actually blushing!

“Ronon?”

“It’s what happened to me,” the giant muttered.

“You mean… you mean you’re in love?”

Rodney drank in the sight of the Prince’s hazel eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. He was just so gorgeous, with a character to match and Rodney wished, with all his heart, that he could spend ten minutes with the man… talking to him as an equal and being a part of that joy and enthusiasm.

“Who with?”

“…mumble…”

“Who?”

Ronon sighed and leaned back against the log. “Lady Jennifer.”

“Jenni… Jennifer Keller? The Court Physician?”

“Yeah.”

“How? When?”

“I… I just knew,” Ronon mumbled. “She’s beautiful and intelligent… signed up for my defense lessons… good too…”

“I’m… I’m amazed! I’ll have to congratulate her!”

“No!” Faster than Rodney thought possible, Ronon was kneeling up in front of the Prince, urgently entreating. “Don’t… please…”

“She… she’s not in love with you?” Rodney could see the remorse and sympathy that the Prince had for his servant and it made something in his chest swell.

“Oh yes… I mean, yes. She loves me too.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

Ronon got up and fiddled with his hair, producing, to Rodney’s astonishment, a knife. He tossed it into the air and then caught it, immediately flicking it so that it thwacked into Rodney’s tree. Rodney clung to his branch for dear life and nearly missed the giant’s answer due to his terror.

“I’m not good enough for her. I’m just a servant. I could be flogged and turned out of Atlantis.”

John’s mouth opened in shock. “You’re not serious?”

“Oh yeah!” Ronon started doing what Rodney guessed was some kind of martial art warm-up type thing.

“You mean that someone could stop you from being with the woman you love… a lady who loves you back, just because… because of snobbery?”

“Look, if either of my fathers had been titled, then it wouldn’t be a problem, but they weren’t. One was a soldier and the other was a cook. That’s why I’m yours.”

“Mine?”

“Your companion. I grew tall and strong and good at fighting, so I became your man… that and the incident with the coin…”

“The one that you were running away with?” John asked.

“Yeah, that one.”

“The one that nearly turned you into a criminal?”

“Look, you know what you did!” Ronon grinned, although he was clearly still embarrassed. “If you hadn’t stood up for me, I’d be a criminal in prison, or perpetually on the run. You gave me a place and a position, but I’m still just a servant.”

There was a short pause, after which the Prince stood up.

“I thought I had problems. I’m sorry, Ronon.”

“Hey, it’s nothing. Race you back to the ‘Jumper!”

It was only moments after entering the ‘Jumper that John pulled his attention away from the controls and asked.

“Was he there again today?”

“Yeah,” Ronon replied with a smile as John took them off the planet.

***

“My lady, the replies have come in.” Woolsey bowed to the Regent, who nodded, allowing the Councilors to be seated.

“How many?”

“Well, of those who replied, we have nine acceptances, one lady was dead, one is… ah… no longer a lady, three are now married and four replied… they said ‘no’.” Woolsey blushed and Elizabeth wondered exactly what the replies said.

“Nine… I expected more… we had better invite other nobles. And include the gentlemen… we want to have a good time!”

****

“Larryn! Michael! Larryn!”

“Yes Father?” Larryn was reclining in the dining room, boots on the table, plundering a bowl of fruit, while Rodney was Dust-Gathering around her.

“Rodney, go and fetch… Ah, Michael, come and sit down! This is what we have been waiting for!” Kolya turned to his Stepson and barked. “Put that thing away! We have plans to make!”

Rodney pushed his machine to one side and listened.

“This is an invitation to a great Ball!”

“A Ball? Seriously?” Michael sneered, while Larryn sat up and grinned.

“Can I get a new dress?”

“You have a dress in your wardrobe?” Michael queried, his tone bordering on nasty.

“Children, be quiet,” Kolya commanded. “This is important. This is a Ball at the palace of Atlantis. Prince John is going to be searching for a wife!”

“Seriously?” Rodney asked. “It says that on the invitation?”

“No, you stupid boy! Go and do something useful!” Rodney didn’t move. “I spoke with Lord Cowan of the Genii. His niece, the Lady Sora, has been invited and apparently so has every Lady with the ATA gene.”

“None of you have the gene,” Rodney told them helpfully as he whipped out a duster and pretended to dust the ornaments.

“Be quiet!” Kolya snapped without raising his voice and Rodney stuck his tongue out at the back of his Stepfather’s head. “The Prince will be choosing his Consort at the Ball and I wish him to choose one of you.”

“Oh please!” Rodney sneered, but when they all turned to look at him, he was on his knees dusting the corners of the room.

“We will need new clothes, obviously. Go and put decent clothes on, Children. If we are well dressed to begin with, then we will be able to command better service. Now, go, both of you. We will go to Uphrania, they will have the best clothes.”

It was over an hour before Kolya was happy enough with the way they all looked to agree to leave the castle, after which Rodney was able to get at the invitation and read it for himself.

It was a beautiful thing, written in the language of the Ancients, which every child in Pegasus learned at school – although few were as proficient in it as Rodney McKay, obviously! The small data-pad apparently incorporated the information needed to allow Commander Acastus Kolya and his three children to…

“Three?” Rodney hadn’t realized that he had spoken aloud.

His three children were invited to the Grand Ball in celebration of the Great Feast of the Ancestors, at which His Royal Highness, Prince John of Atlantis, would announce the name of his bride.

Rodney sighed. He had watched Prince John running, hot and sweaty, long limbs powering him along in steady, strong strides… Rodney had to take a deep, stabilizing breath. It didn’t matter that he was the heir to the most important throne in the Galaxy, Rodney just loved to watch him and to hear him talk. Would his new bride allow him to carry on running?

Rodney’s heart stuttered as he contemplated a future where he couldn’t have just that little piece of the Prince to himself.

Maybe he should hope that one of his Stepsiblings did attract the Prince’s eye? But the very thought of anyone else having him, made Rodney’s eyes fill with salt water and his shoulders ache with grief.

~

Two hours later, they came back home, in a terrible mood. Larryn was sulking, Michael disappeared off to shoot things and Kolya shouted for Rodney.

“Take that material and make us clothes fit for a Grand Ball.”

“Seriously?” Rodney asked.

“Do not question me, Boy!”

“What happened? Why don’t you get…”

“Tailors had already been over-booked,” Larryn explained sourly. “The material was used up and they refused…refused to take our orders!”

“They obviously didn’t recognize quality,” Kolya sneered and Rodney hid a smile.

“You should have seen Father put that man in his place!” Larryn crowed.

“So you will have to make the clothes,” Kolya commanded. “We need to look utterly splendid!”

“Oh no no no no no!” Rodney refused. “I have no experience in… dress making!”

“You claim to be a genius!” Koyla lifted that eyebrow that meant Trouble to Rodney. “Make them and make them well, or you shall be shut up in your cupboard for three days.”

“You can’t… you wouldn’t…!”

“Care to try me?”

Rodney knew that, as his Stepfather always made good on his threats, he was doomed to the cupboard. He picked up the silks and threads that they had brought back and carried them all down to his kitchen.

It was a hopeless task. He had no idea what people were wearing in the fashionable world. Even when he had been the young Master of the Castle, he had never been interested in clothes, other than for warmth or coolness. Garments were to be worn and then discarded and replaced when something blew up, or he knelt in something smelly.

Even if he managed to invent a sewing machine… and he had – it wasn’t hard – he wouldn’t know how to go about making three splendid outfits fit for a Ball. He wasn’t even sure how to make a pair of trousers.

Working on a principle of reverse engineering, Rodney pulled out the clothes that they had all, previously, considered their ‘best’, and pulled them apart.

When he wasn’t cooking or cleaning, Rodney found that he was hanging bits of cloth on dummies that he had fashioned from three broomsticks and some cardboard, desperately trying to make something from the gaudy silk. It certainly didn’t help that the Ball was in less than a week and he was running out of material.

With only two days to go, Rodney took some final measurements and then went back down to his kitchen, only to discover that Cat had decided that Michael’s cloak was her new scratching post… and she had ripped a hole in the back where it would be obvious.

Rodney looked in dismay at the cloak, then he looked at the cupboard… and it was all too much. Why did he have to do this? If they wanted to go to the Ball so much, why didn’t they try to make their own bloody dresses?

Rodney didn’t give up easily, but this time he was very close. For a whole minute he put his head on his forearms and gave into despair. Three days in the cupboard… three days… it would kill him! He couldn’t… he just couldn’t…

But, Rodney told himself sternly, it was no use worrying himself sick. He should stop and eat, then he should unpick the cloak and give it another go… it was just so hard to combat the misery and the fear of being shut away in the cupboard…

He pulled himself together and sat up to look at the clothes and then screamed like a girl.

“What?”

“C… Carson? What the… where the… where did you come from?”

“Och Rodney, you called for me and here I am.”

“What? I did no such thing!”

“Aye you did! Didn’t you wish for help?”

“No! I just… I just nearly gave up… OK?” Rodney blushed at his admission.

“Do ye mind if I am a wee bit rude?”

“Help yourself!”

“These are hopeless.”

“Well, thanks for that stunning bit of fashion knowhow! How did I survive before you got here?”

“Och, I know you’re a wee bit desperate, so I’ll forgive ye for the sarcasm.”

“So kind.” Rodney turned around and hunched over the table.

“I think you need some help.”

“Don’t tell me, you’re a closet tailor,” Rodney snarked. “You’ve come to help me to make up three suits with your magic suit-making skills and thus save me from the torment of being locked up in the bloody cupboard again!”

Carson pretended not to notice that Rodney was nearly in tears, but he patted his friend on the shoulder.

“Well, not quite, but we Ancients do have some tricks up our sleeves.”

“Tricks? Such as… hey! Did you say… Ancient?”

“Aye.”

“You’re an Ancient?”

“Yes, Rodney, I am an Ancient.”

“How? When?”

“I really don’t want to tell you. It’s a ridiculous tale, highly improbable… exploding tumors an’ all…”

“Exploding…”

“As I said, I really dinnae want to talk about it. I am here to help you.”

“You’re an Ancient? An Ancestor?”

“How else would I have made it through the ‘Gate?”

“Why me?”

“Well, I am your Godfather.”

“You really are my Godfather?”

“Aye. I have been since you were born.”

“And you can help me?”

“Aye. You passed the test, Rodney.”

“Well, of course I did, I am a genius!”

“Not that kind of test. You may be abrasive and rude, but you care about the things that really matter. You are kind and considerate in your own way… I wouldn’t help that unholy trio upstairs, not for all the tea in China!”

“Tea?”

“Dinnae worry about it, Rodney, just go and lie down for a while. Take that plate of food… completely citrus free, I guarantee it!”

“You… you’re really going to…?”

“I, and a few friends, will work on these for ye, aye! Now, go, eat, sleep! You’re clearly knackered!”

Rodney smelt the plate of meatloaf, hot and plentiful, and ceased arguing. After wolfing the food down, he went over to his bed and fell asleep almost immediately.

~

When he woke up he was alone in the kitchen, apart from Cat, but sitting on the dummies were two suits of bright silk, embroidered with gems and lacing. The coats were long and flowing, with voluminous sleeves, and the hats had plumes that Rodney didn’t remember ever seeing before.

The dress was a deep green, wide and full in the skirt and bordering on risqué around the bodice. It too had gems and lace and wide flowing sleeves, and there was a full headdress with emeralds and diamonds to set off Larryn’s hair.

It seemed like moments later that Kolya decided to call for Rodney, demanding to know if the clothes were ready. It was with such relief that Rodney ran up the stairs with the news that it was all done. The cupboard was no longer an option and he could breathe again, whispering his thanks to Carson.

The trio of abusers were a little shocked that the bolts of cloth they had presented Rodney with had produced these clothes. Rodney claimed that he had raided the old stores for extra cloth and lace, but they weren’t listening. The clothes were beautiful, so all they had to do was put them on, but Rodney couldn’t help noticing a lack of gratitude from them.

Rodney had never been much of a ladies’ maid either, but he somehow managed to squeeze his Step-family into their clothes. He had shoes to clean and other accessories to find and he still had to feed and clean-up after them, but they were all ready by the time the Ball was due to start, and all three swept out of the castle, bickering over whose clothes were better made and better fitted, whom the Prince would dance with first and other such things.

After all the fuss of the preparations, the house suddenly seemed very empty and quiet to Rodney, who picked up the discarded clothes and caught a look at himself in the mirror.

He saw a young man whose blond hair was darkening rapidly. He saw intelligent blue eyes and a mouth that sloped downwards unless he was really grinning. He looked down at his hands which were blunt, dexterous and capable of so much and his body that was broad and strong.

His clothes were worn and dirty, however, and he desperately needed a bath and some food. There were smudges on his cheek and his knees were bruised where he had been ducking down to help with final adjustments on three sets of splendid clothes.

Rodney McKay had been invited to the Grand Ball as a member of the nobility and the McKay-Kolya family, but no one would allow him to stay should he appear through the gate. They would take one look at him and be more likely to throw him into the kitchen and tell him to start washing plates.

He should have been the owner of this whole planet, if his father had resisted the dubious temptations of Acastus Kolya. He would have been the heir and the one in the good clothes going to the big party… not that he liked parties… although the food tended to be pretty good. Rodney McKay would have been the one invited to the party, the one meeting the important people in the Galaxy… the one meeting Prince John.

Rodney sat down in the kitchen and looked into the flames, stroking Cat’s head and chin, wondering what it must be like at the Ball.

***

Prince John sighed as his aunt brought another simpering princess for him to dance with. This one was beautiful, with dark curly hair flowing down her back and a pale green floating dress.

“Chaya.” She said softly, smiling.

“I beg your pardon?”

“You were wondering what my name is. It is Chaya. I am from Proculus.”

“Yes… I… sorry, I’ve met so many people… princesses… beautiful princesses… I… I’m not doing this very well, am I?”

Chaya grinned. “I am Princess Chaya, from Proculus.”

“Prince John of Atlantis and I’m very pleased to meet you.”

They danced for a while, the formal pattern leading them around the Grand Hall where the Stargate had ceased whooshing about an hour before. John hated dancing with a passion, but he endured, making light conversation with all the ladies he danced with. He was bored to tears and could barely remember which ones he had already danced with, let alone anything about them.

He came back in contact with Chaya again, who looked deep into his eyes and seemed to glow. Was this the one? John wondered to himself. She was the only one he had really looked at and the only one who seemed to see him, rather than The Prince.

Another half an hour passed and Lady Elizabeth dragged him, over to meet the Lady Sora of Genii… another entirely forgettable princess. Then he was dancing with Chaya again.

“Chaya?”

“You remember me?” The princess smiled and John reflected that she would be pretty to look at, if nothing else.

“What do you like to do?”

“I protect my people, Prince John.”

“Well, we all do that. I meant, what do you do when you’re not...you know… protecting?”

“I take care of my farms and the animals.”

“OK,” John tried to be enthusiastic, but the shine was wearing off.

Suddenly Chaya took hold of his sleeve and pulled him to one side. John could see his aunt and Woolsey watching him eagerly, but he then turned back to his current princess.

“John, do not despair. Your soul-mate will be here soon. You will face trials, but you are destined to be together.”

“You mean…?”

“No, John, I am not for you. I came here to see and remember… I was once, what you call, an Ancestor… an Ancient.”

“Really?”

Chaya grinned. “Really. Maybe we will meet again, but now I have to go.”

To John’s amazement, Chaya turned all glowy, enveloping him in the shining, and then she melted away, leaving the Prince alone.

“Well, that was different.”

“John?”

John spun around to see Woolsey and Elizabeth approaching and he sighed.

“Where is she?”

“She was not the one. She had to go. Who else do I have to dance with?”

He didn’t mean to cause his guardians pain, but he still had to watch their shoulders sink in disappointment.

“I’m sorry.”

“Well, this one is Princess Harmony.”

“She’s a child” John hissed.

“She has the gene!” Woolsey hissed back.

John sighed and went back into battle with the galaxy’s most annoying teenager.

***

“I should’ave known!”

Rodney jumped up, startled. “Carson? What the…?”

“You were wishing again.”

“What? Don’t be ridiculous!”

“You were wishing you could go to the Ball.”

“No I was not! I was merely wondering what it was like. I’m sure it’s tedious in the extreme.”

“I can make it happen you know.”

“What? Make what happen?”

“I can get you to the Ball.”

Carson grinned. He wasn’t at all fooled by Rodney’s fake casual grimace.

“I don’t want to go to the Ball… I’d be bored stupid, the food would be awful and laced with lemon and…”

“You want it more than anything you’ve ever wanted before.”

Rodney dropped the act and looked up at his Godfather from his stool by the fire.

“I just want to see the Prince before he is forced to marry some princess he doesn’t even like. I want to see him laugh again and run again.”

“Then I am here to help you.”

“You can’t.”

“I can.”

“Carson, it’s very kind of you, but even if you could…” his waggled his fingers, incidentally dislodging Cat, “magic up a whole set of clothes and a data-pad to get me in, my Step-father would see me and send me straight home. I’d be lucky if I ever got out of the cupboard again.”

“Ye great ninny! I’m here to help ye! Look, take this.”

Carson held out a little… thing. It looked like a turtle-shaped paperweight, but when Rodney took it, on the verge of a scathing attack on Ancient aesthetics, the thing began to glow blue.

“What is it?”

“It’s a special shield. It’ll make you look like someone else.”

“Who?”

“That’s up to you. You can control it with your mind and project whatever image you like.”

“But… but it’s an Ancient gizmo… I don’t…”

“Yes you do, Rodney. You have always had the gene, but it was… it was sort of switched off in your genetic make-up. I just switched it back on.”

“You can do that?”

“My specialty has always been genetics. I was a medical doctor before I Ascended.”

“Oh, well, I suppose you can’t help that. Perhaps you weren’t bright enough for Physics?”

“Och, you… it’s a good thing I like you Rodney McKay!”

Rodney grinned, feeling more hopeful than he had in a long while.

“Now, I suggest you go and change into these clothes. You need to be able to feel the part even if you can change how you look.”

Half an hour later, Rodney was freshly showered, coiffed and dressed in better clothes than he had ever worn before. His trousers were a pale blue and they showed off his shapely legs to perfection. A white shirt with white and gold lace went under a wonderfully heavy dark blue velvet coat that was encrusted with diamonds and sapphires, while his feet were adorned with dark navy boots that felt as though they had been made to fit only his feet.

“Carson…”

“Listen to me, Rodney. The clothes are yours. They were made for you and they will fit only you, but the shield… It won’t last longer than three hours. After that you will be visible as yourself and your Stepfather will have you taken into custody. The shield will beep about ten minutes before the power runs out, at which point you must be through the Stargate. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Carson, I am a genius you know!”

“Well, listen to this, Genius! There is more. The power is… well, it hasn’t been sanctioned by the Ascended. If they find out I’ve meddled… well, we’ll both be in trouble. They have this stupid rule about interfering in the lives of mortals and… I don’t fancy being dumped somewhere with no memories of who I am or where I was. You have three hours… no more!”

“Three hours… that’s three hours more than I ever thought I’d have. Carson…”

“Aye, well, there’s more. For tonight you will use your real name.”

“My real… No! No I’m sorry Carson but…”

“You’ll be the Noble Meredith. When you project an image, make sure that some people see you as a lady… particularly the Regent and the Chamberlain, otherwise you won’t get a chance to even talk to him.”

“Him?” Rodney squeaked.

“I know you’re half in love with the Prince, Rodney. That’s what this whole thing is about. How else would you ever have a chance to fulfill your wish to speak with him?”

“But…”

“Now now, Genius, we have ta get goin’…”

“Thank you, Carson.”

“Och!” Carson’s dimples appeared. “Now, hold ma hand… this’ll be a bit… whooshy!”

***

When the symbols on the Stargate began locking, it caused everyone to stop and stare. The orchestra stopped playing and people who had been in the Dining Hall and the Great Hall came back to the Gate Room to see who had arrived.

The Gate whooshed and heads turned to the balcony, where Lord Woolsey loudly demanded the identity of the new arrival.

“The Noble Meredith, my lord,” Campbell told him.

“The who?”

Many voices were asking the same question, when the gate suddenly shone brightly, there was a sound like tinkling bells and a figure in a grand… dress? Coat? Came through the Gate and stood on the dais.

The effect was amazing. Atlantis suddenly lit up brightly, lights flashed and a pleasant perfume wafted over the guests. The city was happy about this guest and John needed to know more.

The Prince had been passing through, escaping from the dancing for a blessed moment, and so now he was placed in the ideal position to greet the new arrival. He stepped forward and held out a hand.

It was hard to see who this person was. He… or possibly she… was surrounded in a kind of blur and it was impossible to see details other than a general sense of… well… blue! The person’s eyes were blue and clear and John moved towards them as though captivated.

Although no one played, the sound of music swelled up and John took the newcomer… Meredith… in his arms, staring into those deep, clear eyes, and they began to dance.

Voices asked questions all around, Elizabeth and Woolsey quizzed the poor Secretary and people speculated on who, or what this person was. It seemed that everyone saw him, or her, differently. Some saw a lady with long curly locks, decked out in a royal blue dress with diamonds twinkling all over, while others saw a young man in a long blue coat, but all agreed on the blue eyes.

The music picked up in pace and John and Meredith started waltzing in earnest, John leading them both towards the ballroom, while everyone else watched in astonishment. It was exciting, but also unnerving and several of the hopeful ladies began swooning or crying, except for the ones who grew angry.

At the end of the exhilarating dance, John was approached so that others could dance with the amazing Meredith, but he shook his head and carried on dancing with his partner, his captor. It wasn’t until a break in the dancing that he was able to lead Meredith to a secluded balcony that had been set aside for this purpose.

“You are the first person I have brought here,” John spoke first.

Meredith bowed his… her head and John forced his eyes to see past the disguise. He saw that this was a man with a pleasant face, but when he lifted the head to see the face, all he could see were the man’s eyes.

“Why can I not see you properly?”

“I am in disguise,” Meredith told him, his voice soft.

“But why hide yourself?”

Rodney thought about that and wondered what he could tell the Prince. He wanted to forget his real life and just live for the three hours… two and a half hours left to him.

“There are people here who are my enemies. Please, can we avoid that subject? I came because I wanted to see you… for real.”

“Me? Why would anyone want to see me?” John asked, laughing.

“You are amazing. You are elegant and handsome, you speak with intelligence and you even know a little about Science and Math… not as much as I do, but then I am a genius.”

John laughed and his eyes danced. This was no simpering princess. This was a real person who saw John, not ‘The Prince’, and he wanted to know more.

“You are a scientist?”

“I invent machines. I have a workshop and a laboratory and I study all kinds of scientific data.”

“Do you have the gene?”

“I do.”

Rodney’s face lit up as he spoke and he lost himself in telling the Prince about his theories and inventions. It was everything he had ever wanted and the Prince was as fascinating and fascinated as Rodney had imagined. He asked intelligent questions and even pulled out a portable computer so that Rodney could show him his workings.

Meredith was clearly deluded, John decided. He kept asking about John’s hair and how he made it stick up like that, how he managed to be so effortlessly flexible and graceful and how he did ‘the charm thing’, and yet all John could ask about, or comment about, was the beauty and sparkle of those captivating eyes. Meredith’s face was blurred, but so expressive that it was impossible to be mistaken as to how he felt about anything. John just drank it all in and grinned.

Then Rodney asked about John’s running, expressing surprise that he should run ‘for pleasure’! The Prince enjoyed Mathematical problems and all kinds of games and he even showed ‘Meredith’ a game on the portable device and they played it happily, laughing at each other and allowing the time to pass swiftly.

John had to face up to his duties, however, and after over an hour of playing that passed far too quickly, he reluctantly told Meredith that they had to go back to the party.

“I have to be seen sometimes.”

“I understand that,” Rodney agreed. “You are a symbol more than a person sometimes. You have to be seen to do the right thing and say the right thing. I’m… not very good at the politically correct thing. I tend to be a bit… um… blunt.”

John just grinned. “In some ways I can’t wait to be King… I’ll get to say all the things I have ever wanted to! And no one will be able to tell me off for it!”

“It sounds too good to be true,” Rodney sighed. “My family… Actually I don’t want to speak about my family. You must go and do your duty.”

“And you must come with me. I insist. I don’t think that I have ever met anyone who is as interesting as you.”

~

As soon as the Prince arrived back in the room, he was the centre of attention, but he remained confident and he held Rodney’s hand firmly, answering questions politely, but vaguely. Then, as soon as he could, he led Rodney onto the dance floor and danced with him again.

This time, though, Rodney started making comments about the other guests.

“Oh… nine o’clock… look, luminous pink and matching wig… that’s not really female is it?”

“Oh look at Lord Cowan dancing… he’s about as elegant as a grasshopper!”

“Two o’clock,” John joined in, “green and orange, I kid you not!”

“Oh! Oh! Three partners down… amazing collection of facial warts… “

“That’s the King of Manara!” John hissed.

“So? Ooh! Palenan solar system!”

“Where?”

“That man’s arm… no… that one!”

“Meredith, you are…”

“What? Rude? Brilliant? Boring?”

“A genius!”

“I know that!” Meredith laughed, “I told you that!”

John had never enjoyed a party as much as this one. Dancing had always been a chore and public appearances a nightmare, but with Meredith by his side, he could see the whole thing opening up into a bearable life. It could even be good! All the comments and the entertaining banter just made it all more interesting… even fun! Especially when Meredith started laughing at Kav, who was dressed in the most extravagantly over-the-top costume, and that was fine with John.

A lady approached them during a break in the dancing and John turned to her.

“Lady Teyla?”

“Her Ladyship, the Regent, would like to meet the Noble Meredith, Your Highness.”

John grinned and bowed to the Lady of Athos.

“We shall attend Her Ladyship as soon as possible. If you… Meredith? Meredith?”

The Prince turned around, but Meredith had vanished. John ran to the buffet table where he had already witnessed Meredith’s appreciation for non-lemony food, but his partner wasn’t there. By this time word had gotten around, and John was pushed in the direction of the Gate Room where he was just in time to see the Gate power down.

“What… what the hell? What happened? What… Where?” John fought against the emotions and the tears that threatened, until his eyes fell upon a blue object.

It looked like one of the very few, precious personal shields, but this one was blue and he knew what it was, and also why it died in his hands. This was Meredith’s disguise. It was a small thing left behind, having fallen off as the power failed. Sometimes these things could be coaxed to perform again, but mostly they would stop working completely.

As the blue light died in the jewel, John dropped onto the steps of the dais and allowed his heart to fill with grief. It had worked. The whole, stupid, ridiculous, horrible charade of a Ball had worked. He had found his love, his soul mate, but the man had gone… he had run away.

All around him the party began to die away. It was clear that the Ball was over and, although many took the party with them to other planets and business was concluded in various offices around the city and the Galaxy, John no longer took part in any of it. None of it was relevant to him anymore and it wasn’t until the servants were cleaning the hall that he stopped turning the shield over and over in his hands.

“John?”

John was aware that his name had been called repeatedly, but only now, when there was no one around but his aunt, could he face reality again.

“Aunt Elizabeth.”

“John… who was she?”

John looked up, “You saw a girl?”

“I did, yes. Was she not?”

“Who knows? I saw a man. I saw a man with the most incredible eyes, soft hair and a brain the size of a planet. I saw someone I could imagine helping me, working by my side, entertaining me when things got difficult, finding solutions to impossible situations and sharing my life with me.”

“You have made your choice?” Elizabeth cried, “But John, that’s wonderful! Where does she live?”

“I have absolutely no idea.”

“But you were with her all night!” Elizabeth argued.

“I found him… or maybe her, the one I am going to marry, but Teyla frightened him… or her away!” John held up the little shield. “This was his… or her disguise. It’s a device like the personal shields and it’s probably keyed to…”

Suddenly, to Elizabeth’s astonishment, John leapt to his feet, filled with purpose again.

“John, what is it?”

“The device! It’s keyed to its owner and only Meredith can turn it back on again! That’s it! I will marry the person who can make this device light up again!”

Elizabeth looked at her nephew and quickly calculated what this all meant. She could use this to the advantage of Atlantis.

“John, tell me the truth. Do you really mean this?”

“Aunt?”

John should have been worried. Elizabeth was wearing one of her most terrifyingly intense stares… the one that said ‘I will hold you to this’.

“Do you promise that if anyone can light up this shield, you will marry them?”

John was often accused of rash decision making, but this time he didn’t even have to think about it.

“Whoever can light up this device will be my Consort.”

“Even if it is not Meredith?”

“It will be.”

“But if it isn’t?”

After a small pause, John nodded. “I will marry that person.”

Elizabeth breathed deeply in relief. At last she could see her way forward. The heralds would be sent out and they would take this device to all the ATA princesses and one of them would have a strong enough gene to activate it. John would be forced to marry… he could chase his elusive ‘Meredith’ later… and the succession would be secured.

“Then I shall have the documents drawn up,” Elizabeth told her nephew. He was young and had been impressed by the romance of the evening, just as Richard had predicted, but in time he would realize the truth of the matter. Prince John was honourable and would do his duty.

***

Rodney ran as fast as possible. He had no idea if anyone had recognised him, but the moment the shield had begun beeping he had searched for a way to escape. If that lady hadn’t arrived at that moment, all would have been lost, the disguise would have failed and his stupidity would have been revealed to all.

He was aware that the little device had fallen off as he dashed down from the balcony, but, between pushing that poor technician aside and punching in the address and then running for the wormhole before it closed, he hadn’t had time to pick it up. It was as lost as he would be from now on.

Back in the kitchen he began unbuttoning the beautiful coat, but then he remembered John’s hands and the feeling of being held by the Prince. The music and the dancing, the warmth and the utter brilliance of the Prince came back to him and he found himself swaying in time to the music in his head.

It had been the most marvellous three hours of his entire life, the fulfilment of his dearest wish and the cause of the pain that was even now attacking his heart.

Rodney had already fallen in love with the Prince, but close up he was even more impressive than Rodney had expected. They had bantered well together, batting forth jokes and teasing between them and enjoying each other’s wit. John had been dressed in a way that made him look completely devastating and Rodney only had to close his eyes to recall the image of that wonderful face.

The Prince’s conversation had been even more exhilarating than Rodney had dared to hope and he realised that it was really true that he loved the man and not the Prince. He loved John… the real John, not some facsimile on a coin or token… but there lay the tragedy. If John had been a simple man, Rodney could have spent the rest of his life with him, but John was the future King of Pegasus and he would have to marry a Princess. Conception between two men was possible, but it was never as certain and sure as the natural birth of a child to a mother. Many children born to two fathers or two mothers were treated almost as bastards, or at least as somehow suspect. The child of the King of Pegasus would have to be beyond suspicion.

Rodney stopped dancing and made himself undress. He hid the wonderful clothes in a box from the kitchen and then he pushed the box under his bed. Soon enough his Stepfamily would be back and he would have to serve them drinks and help them to undress, but until then he could sit by the fire, with Cat on his knees and remember everything.

***

The next morning no one got up at all in the McKay castle. Rodney was too depressed and the others had all drunk too much, but eventually, at lunchtime, Rodney summoned up enough courage to drag himself out of bed. He would have to appear normal and fake interest in the Ball, so he gathered together all he would need for brunch and forced himself to go upstairs.

In the room that had always been his father’s, Rodney found Acastus sitting up in a pile of pillows, moaning and holding his head.

“Good morning, Stepfather,” Rodney said as he always did.

“Bring me Aspirin!” Kolya growled.

Rodney grinned to himself and placed the pills and a glass of water by the bed. He had brought enough for everyone and, sure enough, Michael and Larryn appeared minutes later.

“How was the Ball?” Rodney asked innocently.

“It was wonderful!” Michael enthused, his pale face looking even more pinched than usual.

“Your Stepbrother and sister were a triumph!” Kolya told Rodney with a hint of cruel pleasure at Rodney’s expense. Rodney pretended to look hurt but they weren’t really paying him any attention. “Larryn was the Belle of the Ball and had partners lining up to dance with her!”

That wasn’t quite how Rodney remembered it, but he said nothing.

“I danced with the Prince!” Larryn declared. “He asked me my name and what I liked to do!”

Rodney smiled and thought of the conversation he had had with the Prince.

“Michael was a great hit with Kanaan of Athos!” Kolya told Rodney. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we were to hear wedding bells here soon.”

This, presumably, was the same Kanaan who was engaged to Lady Teyla, Rodney surmised and kept his face straight with a little difficulty. “It sounds… lovely.”

“It was amazing!” Larryn took up the tale. “If that mysterious… Noble hadn’t arrived…”

“Noble?” Rodney responded to his cue.

“It was appalling. It was cheating!” Michael protested.

“Do not frown like that, Michael, it ruins your looks.”

“But Papa, if she hadn’t arrived, then I would have made my move on the Prince!”

“She?” Rodney prompted.

“Or he,” Larryn responded.

“He or she? That doesn’t make sense!”

“The… person… was disguised. It was ridiculous really. No one could really tell if the person was man or woman, you couldn’t see her features and yet the Prince still went for her!”

“Went for her?” Rodney asked.

“He refused to talk to or dance with anyone else!” Larryn spat. “It was frightful! The Prince even disappeared for two hours with her and they had to send for him to make him come back!”

“And then, to top it all, she vanished!” Michael sniffed, offended. “She just disappeared.”

“Where did she… or he… go?”

“You stupid boy!” Kolya admonished. “She disappeared, so no one knew where she went! That’s what it means! She left through the Stargate and the Prince just fell to pieces.”

“He… he fell to pieces? He was upset?” Rodney asked, forgetting his act for a moment.

Larryn sauntered over to Rodney and glared at him.

“You’re being even weirder than usual this morning. Why should we tell you anything about the party? You were not invited and you would not have been welcome. You are merely a servant and you have a castle to clean. My clothes were put away so badly, they are all creased and I am hungry. Go and do your work!”

Rodney did as he was bid, but he couldn’t help thinking about the Prince and his reaction to ‘Meredith’s’ leaving.

***

Heralds were sent out all over the Galaxy. Proclamations were sent in as many forms as necessary to reach the entire population. Within hours, every person in the Galaxy knew that the Prince had made his choice. Some kind of gadget had been found and who ever could turn it on would become the Prince’s Consort.

It was exciting news. Anyone who had the gene was eligible to try, and so ladies who were not Princesses suddenly found themselves in the running for the position. The proclamation had announced that women would be tested first but men were planning their futures too and there was an atmosphere of giddiness and anticipation everywhere.

It was about a month before the Herald and the Secretary arrived on Canada but Larryn had been practising turning things on (which made Rodney laugh, seeing as she didn’t have the gene) and Michael had been working on a gene therapy that would give him the ability to work the thing. Rodney was quite impressed with how far Michael had got but had been unable (and unwilling) to help him. He had been locked into his cupboard a few times now but quite apart from his refusal to inflict anything as awful as Michael on the Prince, Rodney had no interest or skill in anything medical or biological.

When the day finally came, Acastus Kolya made Rodney clean the castle from top to bottom, bake cakes and pastries, something he was getting quite good at now, even if he did say so himself, and prepare a feast for the Royal emissaries. When the call came to let them through the Gate, Kolya sent his children to welcome them, while he went down to the kitchen where Rodney was putting the final touches to the food.

“Boy!”

“Yes, Stepfather?”

“Come here and take this.”

Rodney went to his Stepfather and took the globe he held out. He nearly dropped it when it suddenly glowed green.

Kolya, however, glowered at his stepson and grabbed his arm.

“How long have you known that you have the gene?”

“I didn’t!”

“Don’t lie to me, Boy!”

“But…”

Suddenly his Stepfather produced a knife and he held it up to Rodney’s arm. Rodney watched the knife approach his arm in terror, his whole attention on the reflecting blade.

“Stepfather!”

“How long have you had the gene?”

“Carson… my Godfather gave me the gene!” Rodney cried out as the knife slipped into his arm and pain struck him. “I didn’t know… I didn’t know!”

“You will be out of sight and silent while the emissaries are here. I will not have my children’s chances ruined by a peasant like you!” Kolya grabbed Rodney and pushed him roughly into his cupboard. “Not a sound, or I shall have you whipped!”

Of course, neither of Kolya’s children, nor Acastus himself possessed the gene and none of them were able to make the shield do anything but sit on its cushion. Secretary Campbell was secretly rather relieved that none of them were destined to be Consort. As he confided to Herald Walter, the father was ugly and the children were vain and creepy and he thanked all the Ancestors that he could forget them and head for home.

Rodney had to bind his own arm, but his life in the Castle now had a new level of terror to it and he longed even harder for a way to leave this place.

***

It took three months, but eventually Chuck and Walter had visited the homes of every person who had attended the Ball and the shield had remained dormant throughout.

John grew almost depressed and, eventually, he commissioned a special glass case for the shield. It lay there in state, reminding everyone of the dream that was not to be and John visited it every day.

He couldn’t understand why Meredith had left so suddenly. Why hadn’t he stayed to take his rightful place at John’s side? Was the Prince so repulsive? Meredith hadn’t seemed to think so when they were together. In fact, Meredith had been more than complimentary and had spoken as though he knew the Prince already, but everyone in the castle, from the Lords and Ladies to the lowest technicians had been tested and no one had succeeded in lighting the shield. The only thing Master Zelenka, the Royal Scientist, could tell them was that there was just enough power left for the person who initialized it to light it up again.

“I do not think that she… or he… will be able to disguise herself… himself again, though Your Highness.” Zelenka explained. “It has only enough power for light. That is why it fell to the floor in the first place.”

John didn’t really care. He wanted to hear Meredith’s teasing again, to hear his witty comments, to play games with him again and to see those beautiful blue eyes just one more time.

In fact, it took Ronon a lot of nagging and persuading to get his Prince to even go running again. No amount of teasing or cajoling would persuade John to go so, instead, Ronon asked John to show him how to surf.

For the first time in months, John showed some interest in the outside world and he went to one of the best beach planets in the Galaxy. It was a private beach. Everywhere these days, places were being spoiled and turned into resorts. With the Wraith gone, the population of many planets had begun to boom and now, three generations later, there was prosperity throughout the Galaxy. There was a lot more war between planets for power and resources but generally there was interest in life.

This planet, however, was claimed by Atlantis and the Space Gate had been locked so that only those coming from Atlantis herself could come here.

John and Ronon rode the waves for a good many hours, then they spent some time sunbathing, until the sun began to sink and John realized that he would have to go back home.

As they loaded the puddlejumper, John felt the weight of his hopelessness hit him again.

“Ronon… I can’t forget him.”

“You’re convinced it was a ‘he’ then?”

“Yeah. He was a ‘he’! He was captivating, annoying, entertaining…”

“Yeah, you said!”

John looked up in astonishment at Ronon’s complaint.

“Am I boring you?”

“A bit!” Ronon smiled one of his small smiles and John grinned back. He wasn’t used to people being as blunt as that… it was one of things he had liked about Meredith. Then John realized why Ronon had reacted.

“I’m insensitive,” John looked away. “I’ve been telling you for weeks about the agony of love and you are going through the same thing.”

“At least I know where mine is.”

“Did you dance with her at the Ball?”

“No. Not done,” Ronon reverted to short answers.

“You know, I don’t really get that,” John confided as he ordered the door to shut on the Puddlejumper. “You are a member of the court, so why is there a problem?”

“I’m not. I just come with you.” Ronon sighed and had to explain again. He hated speaking. “You have to marry a princess and I have to marry a servant, or possibly a soldier. It’s all about rank. Her father would be furious if I tried to marry her and she’d be disgraced if we skipped the marriage bit.”

They took off and headed up into the atmosphere, towards the space gate.

“So, if you were titled, you’d be able to marry her?”

“Yeah.”

“Atlantis! This is Prince John! We’re coming home!”

Ronon wondered what was going on. The Prince had sounded almost like his old, animated self, but it wasn’t his place to argue or point things like that out. He and the Prince had a very easy relationship but there were some things a mere servant couldn’t get away with.

As they landed in the Jumper Bay, John told Ronon to leave the technicians to unload the surfing gear and to follow him.

John led Ronon to the Gate Room, waving for everyone to sit and carry on, (he really hated it when they all stopped their important work just to stand and bow at him) then he turned to his friend and servant and commanded him to kneel.

“What?” Ronon questioned. He and the Prince didn’t have that ‘thou shalt obey me’ kind of relationship, so this sudden request startled the Satedan.

“Kneel. I command it.” John insisted formally.

After a small hesitation, Ronon did as asked. After all, John was the Prince and also Ronon’s Master.

“Be it known that henceforth, Ronon Dex of Sateda shall be known to all as Sir Ronon Dex of the Royal Order of the Chair. I, Prince John, Crown Prince of Atlantis, declare it!” John held out his hand and shrugged, spoiling the grand moment a little. “You’re supposed to kiss my hand.”

Ronon obeyed and then John raised him up and kissed him on both cheeks. All around them the technicians and guards applauded and John felt as though he had really achieved something and used his position for good, for the first time in a long while.

“Well, Sir Ronon, why don’t you go and woo your lady?”

“I… I don’t know what to say…”

“Don’t say anything. Just go and be happy.”

Ronon smiled a blinding smile and then jogged off to do just that. John’s cheer disappeared as soon as the giant was out of sight. “Happy enough for both of us,” he said aloud.

John wandered over to the glass case that held the little shield device and he examined it. It was the only clue they had to Meredith’s identity and yet it was completely useless. In an uncharacteristic fit of anger, John suddenly smashed the case and took the shield out. It was unusual for him to find a piece of Ancient technology that he couldn’t use, but this one stayed stubbornly dark.

Suddenly John felt so angry that he felt he had to get rid of that stupid thing! He went back to the Jumper Bay and informed Flight Control that he was taking his personal Jumper out for a run. Campbell had no chance to deny the request, as the Prince just took off and punched in the address for his favourite running ground.

It was a lovely Autumn day on the planet, whose name he had completely forgotten, but he associated it with the many easy conversations he had had with Ronon on the topic of life and love. He landed the Jumper and headed out, aiming for the little glade where the gravestones sat. Once there, he laid the shield down.

“I can’t forget you, Meredith, but I can do this. I can let you go and do my Duty to the city. We would have been a great team together, but…”

He heard the sound of feet running towards the glade and thought it might be Ronon, chasing after him to drag him back home. There was only one thing to do, he hid in the tree.

It wasn’t Ronon. It was a young man in messy clothes, holding onto a bunch of wilting wild flowers. He came into the glade and went straight to the first gravestone, kneeling down to place some of his flowers there.

As the Prince watched, the young man found and picked up the shield. He looked up with such an expression of joy on his face that John was momentarily blinded… then he realised exactly what he was seeing. The young man had lit the shield!

John jumped down from the tree and approached the man. John looked down at the grave and read the names again, then he looked back at the man and saw his eyes.

“Meredith!” he cried, then louder, “Meredith! It was you all along! The boy in the tree!”

“Prince John!” Rodney responded with a bow.

“No! No bowing! Meredith!” John felt weak at seeing his lost love again and he grabbed Rodney’s hand. “You never need to bow again! I’m going to make you my Consort!”

John pulled Rodney towards him and suddenly swooped in to kiss his prize. To start with, Rodney remained startled, then suddenly he relaxed and joined in enthusiastically. It was perfect. The perfect kiss. John released him and then gazed into those amazing eyes.

“My Consort,” he murmured happily.

“But…”

“Where did you go? I’ve been searching for you!”

“I came home… I wasn’t supposed to be there…”

“You weren’t invited?”

“I was invited only… it’s a long story…”

“Then tell me your story as we go back to your castle.”

“Well, first… my name is… well Meredith is my real name, but I prefer Rodney.”

“Rodney,” John tried it out and smiled. “Tell me all…”

~

“Where have you been?” Kolya demanded angrily as Rodney entered the front gate of the castle. Kolya’s children were watching as they always enjoyed it when their father bullied Rodney.

Then everything changed as the Prince stepped in through the door.

“Your Royal Highness!” Kolya murmured, stunned, only just remembering to bow.

“You must be Meredith’s Stepfather,” John said coolly.

“I am… and these are his adoring Stepsiblings. Where have you been, Child? We missed you!”

“Oh yes, really convincing!” Rodney scoffed at Kolya’s attempt to show a human side. “One minute it’s ‘Shut him up in the cupboard’ then the next it’s ‘Oh we’ve missed you!’ – I really don’t think the Prince is fooled.”

“No, I’m not,” John joined in. “But I am well-bred enough to ask you formally for Meredith’s hand in marriage.”

“Marriage? With… with Rodney?” Kolya asked, shocked. “How? I mean… what?”

“Do you consent? It makes very little difference as we will marry anyway.”

Kolya tried a simpering smile, but it looked more like a glare. “Of course! Won’t you come in for… for some tea?”

“Nope. I think we have a lot to arrange. Come on Rodney.”

Rodney pulled back and looked back at Kolya.

“It’s your fault you know. I had to resort to disguises to get to the Ball, which meant I was late and mysterious. John didn’t stand a chance. But I forgive you.”

He went back to John’s side, clutching his hand again while behind them, Kolya went into a rage of anger and shame. Rodney really didn’t care. He was going to Atlantis with John.

***

( yes, there is more – John and Rodney can never do anything simply!)

***

****

When the Prince announced that he was coming home, there was a great deal of fuss in the Gate Room. Major Lorne’s team was able to stand down and Zelenka sighed with relief as he could now tell his people to cease searching for information that they all knew just wasn’t there.

The Lady Regent and the Lord Chamberlain were waiting on the balcony, ready to great and shout at the Prince but, as soon as John appeared from the Jumper Bay, it became obvious that there was something going on.

The Prince was clutching a scruffy young man by the hand and wearing the biggest grin anyone had ever seen on his handsome face. Atlantis started glowing brightly, all her lights lighting up and music playing through her speakers.

“John?” Elizabeth spoke first while John brought Rodney to the balcony, where he bowed.

“Elizabeth… this is Meredith… Rodney, this is my aunt Elizabeth, Regent of Pegasus and my Guardian and this is the Lord Chamberlain, Richard Woolsey.”

“My Lady… My Lord.” Rodney replied formally.

“You are Meredith?” Elizabeth asked, trying to keep her astonishment and disappointment in check.

“Yes, My Lady.”

“Where have you been?” Woolsey demanded. “We’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

“Rodney has been held captive by his Stepfather but he’s free now and we are going to marry. Show them the shield, Rodney.”

Rodney held out the glowing shield and there was a gasp around the control room.

“You see? Your own proclamation states that I must marry who ever can control that device, so we will wed. Right now, though, I’m going to go and set up Rodney’s quarters.”

John pulled his fiancé towards him and kissed him in front of the whole court, before dragging Rodney away, and they could hear him pointing things out to his love, explaining why he had to have separate quarters and generally enthusing about everything.

Back in the Gate Room, however, Elizabeth exchanged sad glances with Woolsey and they went into the Regent’s office to talk.

***

It had been the most wonderful day and Rodney reflected on it, sitting on a wide and comfortable bed, in his own room in the city of Atlantis.

He could hardly believe it was true. The décor was tasteful and elegant, the bed promised a wonderful night’s sleep and, best of all, he was off that damned planet, away from his Stepfamily and safe. From now on, there would be no more days where he worked himself to death simply to please a man who could never be pleased. There would be food in plenty and real Science to play with and, best of all, there would be John.

Rodney McKay would never be lonely again.

There was a knock at the door and Rodney opened it with his mind, enjoying the little thrill at being able to do it. The Lord Chamberlain entered and Rodney sat up on his bed, somehow knowing that this was not going to be a pleasant chat.

“My Lord Chamberlain.” Rodney bowed, formally.

“My Lord Meredith.” Woolsey replied and Rodney couldn’t help grinning a little at the title.

Woolsey had been practicing what he was going to say – he even had a whole script written out in his pocket but now, faced with the actual situation, he couldn’t bring himself to be so cold. It was obvious in the boy’s demeanor that he loved the Prince, but…

“You wish to speak with me?” Rodney prompted.

“Yes… yes, I do…” Woolsey took a deep breath and looked directly at the boy. “You love Prince John, don’t you?”

“Yes!” Rodney replied, his eyes and face reflecting the joy he felt whenever he thought about the Prince. “I love him with all my heart.”

“That only makes it harder… Do you mind if I sit down?”

“Go ahead.” Rodney nodded towards the cushioned chairs by the large window and then joined the Chamberlain.

“I think that I should probably be blunt.”

“I would prefer that,” Rodney agreed.

“Then… Meredith, it will not be possible for you to marry Prince John.”

“I… excuse me?” Rodney’s happiness crumbled all around him. He should have known that it was all too good to be true. Nothing nice ever happened to him without there being dire consequences, but he had really thought that this once…

“When we proposed the Ball to the Prince, it was an effort to find him a compatible princess. We hoped that it would lead him to finding what he wanted… he was searching for love. It worked, in a way, as he found you, but… Meredith, please bear in mind that he is not only a Prince, but that he is to be King on the day he marries. He needs a Consort, and I am certain that you would make a good Consort, but John’s position requires that this Consort should be a lady… preferably a princess.”

“To ensure the succession,” Rodney guessed gloomily.

“He must have children and those children must be sure. Since the death of his brother, David, the responsibility for the continuance of the Royal line rests with Prince John.”

“I… understand,” Rodney managed to say, even though his heart was breaking.

“There is more. In the past, a bride would have been chosen for the Prince, but we allowed him to search for himself. We hoped that he would be able to choose from the large number of princesses in our Galaxy, and that he would be able to find happiness in his marriage as well as political convenience.”

“We could have children,” Rodney argued hopefully.

“Indeed you could, Meredith, but what if the process is contaminated?”

“We could ensure it isn’t,” Rodney argued.

“You are young and you see love conquering all, but… sometimes cruel acts have to be committed in the name of politics and sacrifices must be made,” Woolsey stated gently.

“And that sacrifice is me… and John.”

Woolsey nodded. “Prince John has already offended a large number of planets who now look at us with greed and anger. Atlantis is not the safe leader of the Galaxy that it once was and, for peace and prosperity, we must ally ourselves with strong regimes and be seen to act decisively. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand,” Rodney agreed angrily, but then he controlled his anger and hurt and spoke again. “So… what happens to me?”

Woolsey sighed again. This was really the hard part.

“The Ancients left behind a few cities such as this. Atlantis is the crowning jewel, but there is another empty palace on a planet that only has a Space Gate. Dr Zelenka has agreed to go there with you to set up base there. You will have staff and laboratories to help you devote yourself to the science that you love and you will be the Lord of all that is there.”

“But I will still be a prisoner,” Rodney nodded. “He will find me. He will look and he will…”

“The address will be taken out of the database,” Woolsey interrupted.

“You… you have thought of everything,” Rodney was ashamed of the wobble in his voice, but he had glimpsed heaven and now it was being snatched away from him, cruelly.

“You have a few minutes to pack and then Major Lorne will accompany you to the Jumper Bay.”

Rodney turned away from the Chamberlain and willed his emotions away, his brain working fast to figure everything out. The Chamberlain got to his feet and moved towards the door, but Rodney had one more loose end to tie.

“Lord Woolsey?”

“Yes?”

“May I… I’m sorry, I understand and I won’t… I won’t make a fuss, but… in bowing to the Royal demands I must make one of my own.”

Woolsey opened his mouth to object, but Rodney carried on.

“Oh, it’s nothing much and I’m sure that with your tact and… and understanding… you know… I wish you to carry a message to him… to His Royal Highness…”

“What is the message?”

“Tell him… tell him that it wasn’t love…” Rodney stuttered. “That I lied about loving him. Tell him that I’m just an arrogant scientist… petty, rude and bad with people. Tell him that I’m already m… married and that I tr… tricked him… just don’t tell him how much I love him. Just make him feel glad that he avoided making a terrible mistake. Make him hate me… I just wanted the title and the power or something. Give him something… something to help him avoid feeling like this, because… I couldn’t bear it if he felt…”

The Chamberlain’s expression changed to one of empathy as he saw the struggle on the young man’s face, and he laid a hand on his shoulder. He gave Rodney a few minutes to collect the few things that he had, including the little shield. Rodney looked around the beautiful room and tried to commit it to memory before they came to take him away from that touch of heaven. It was all too soon that the Chamberlain retuned and led him to the door, where Lorne was waiting to take him to a puddlejumper.

~

When the ship was out of sight and the Gate had shut down, Woolsey went back to the Regent’s office, where Elizabeth waited patiently. She sat straight-backed and proud, knowing the hurt that this would cause her nephew, and she did not turn her head as the Chamberlain entered.

“It is done,” Woolsey announced softly.

“He accepted?”

“He certainly behaved like a prince.” Woolsey sat opposite the Lady Regent. “He understood the political situation and why we had to remove him. He controlled his emotions, not shedding a tear until he was at the Stargate. He… he would have been a good, intelligent Consort to the Prince.”

“And John?”

“The Prince will be informed in the morning that Meredith left without saying goodbye.”

Elizabeth nodded, but did not speak. Woolsey left her to her thoughts.

****

The next morning saw John causing a ruckus in the castle, grabbing a puddlejumper and flying to as many planets on the list of recent addresses as he could, with only Sir Ronon to attend him and a life-signs detector in his hand, but Rodney was long gone and the Prince came home empty-handed.

He strode to the office, where his aunt was waiting and didn’t give her a chance to speak.

“Aunt Elizabeth, Woolsey, I have no idea what you hope to gain by this action… and don’t even begin to repeat that nonsense you were spouting this morning, Woolsey! This is true love and you have ruined everything! Pick a princess… I really don’t give a damn which one… I’ve rejected all of them at least once. Pick a bride and I’ll do my Royal Duty to the altar,” John stabbed a finger at Elizabeth. “But it ends there. The royal line shall die with me!”

The Prince of Atlantis spun on his heel and left the gate room, leaving stunned silence in his wake.

***

The morning of the Marriage of Prince John, Crown Prince of Atlantis to Her Royal Highness Princess Mara of the Tower dawned, but John couldn’t shake the feeling that he was betraying Rodney.

He understood his duty and he even understood why Rodney had agreed to this separation, but he didn’t know if he could accept it. He had searched and looked, paid money to bribe travelers for information and even tried consulting the AI of Atlantis, but none of them could help him find his soul mate.

Music filled his room as the Prince stared out of the window over the sea. He had always enjoyed the music of Johnny Cash, but now this song in particular seemed to have much more meaning than before, so he played it over and over again.

I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything

If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way.

It meant so much more but John had already decided that this would be the last time. After the wedding he would be nothing more than an empty shell, destined to live alone for ever more.

Sighing deeply, saying his private goodbye to Rodney, John allowed Ronon to help him don his wedding cloak, and he left the room to go to his doom.

***

“What in God’s name are you doing here Rodney?” Carson’s exasperated voice brought Rodney out of his daydream. He had his own lab and minions to shout at, technology to use and build and everything he had ever wanted… or at least, everything he had wanted before he had met John. Now it all seemed worthless.

He looked over at his bizarre Godfather and noticed his clothes.

“All dressed up and nowhere to go?” he asked, his tone a long way short of the scathing one he had aimed at.

“You are missing your own wedding!” Carson cried, his accent thickening in agitation.

“My wedding!” Rodney snorted. “No one to marry, Carson.”

“You are supposed to marry Prince John! Oh….”the doctor said something in Scottish that was obviously not complimentary. “You stayed longer than three hours didn’t you! Oh….” Rodney was pretty sure that last bit was a swear word. “I told you we’d be in trouble if you did that!”

“Look!” Rodney replied crossly. “I’m miserable enough as it is! I don’t need you having a go at me.”

“Of course you’re miserable! You’re missing your own wedding! So, who is he marrying then?”

“I don’t know. Some princess from somewhere or other.” Rodney sighed. “Mara? Cara? Zara?”

“I’m going to have to do something really spectacular now, I hope you realize that!” Carson complained.

“Spectacular?”

“Aye. Turn those damned machines off and we’ll get going.”

“Turn them… but Carson…”

“Do ye want to marry your Prince or not?”

“Me? Marry John?”

“I thought you were supposed to be intelligent!” Carson teased.

“You can really do that?”

Carson smiled his widest smile and his blue eyes twinkled.

“I love weddings!”

******

The Gate Room was decked out in flowers and lights and there were chairs placed all around, with people dressed in their very best, seated and speculating.

The preparations had been hampered somewhat by Atlantis. She had refused to light up properly and, in the end, they had had to call for the Prince himself to remonstrate with her and persuade her to allow the lights.

The Prince arrived on time, with Sir Ronon in tow, and everyone stood and bowed as he walked by. He walked stiffly and proudly towards the balcony, where the wedding would take place, not even looking at the people he passed. It was clear that Prince John was taking the whole thing very seriously and the guests were impressed. Until now, he had had a reputation for a lackadaisical style and a less-than-formal demeanor but he looked very regal as he made his way steadily through the city. The whole story of the Ball and then the subsequent search for the Noble Meredith, had caught the people’s imagination and the fact that the Prince was now marrying meant that this must be a love match, which was far more interesting than a purely political one.

The Bride’s party arrived next and they all made their way up the balcony where they would be able to witness the ceremony. On John’s side there was only Elizabeth and his cousin, the Duke of Kavanagh and there was a whole rigmarole of bowing and greeting going on but John did not turn to look. His eyes remained trained on the beautiful chandelier in the middle of the enormous Gate Room.

There was music playing, and again, Atlantis was being difficult. John suddenly stiffened as he realized that she was playing his Johnny Cash song and he mentally begged her to stop. Even John couldn’t persuade her to lower the temperature and everyone already congregated was sweating horribly.

At the time appointed, exactly, the Gate started locking onto symbols and everyone was silent, waiting for the bride, wondering what she would be wearing and waiting to see just how beautiful she really was.

First through were the Royal Guard of The Tower, wearing ceremonial armor and taking up position on either side of the steps that led up to the Gate.

Next through were the family members of the Tower’s royal family and higher members of the Court. They were dressed in fancy dresses with ribbons and bows and there was movement in the congregation as their mode of dress was dissected. Some were laughing and some were admiring but everyone was waiting for the bride.

The fanfare announced her arrival and her brother, the Lord Protector Tavius, held her hand as she stepped through the Gate.

She was beautiful. She had long blonde hair that tumbled down her back, pinned back with jeweled combs and blue eyes that sparkled. Her lips were crystal pink and her cheeks were high-boned and sculptured.

It was hard to tell the shape of the Princess’s body as it was draped in a dress that puffed out at the sleeves, at waist and around her breasts. She wore a deep pink with pale pink ribbons and pink sapphires and she walked in a stately fashion, a bright smile on her face as she graciously accepted the bows and curtseys of the congregation.

Ronon saw all of this but he also saw the Prince. He saw that the Prince did not look at his bride. He didn’t react either in pleasure or in sorrow, he just waited solemnly, like a man facing his death. He also wondered why no one had told the bride that her fiancé preferred blue. Actually, Prince John seriously detested pink but he didn’t seem to care right now.

Ronon hated being so helpless. He was a man of action and he would have followed John in an endless quest around the Galaxy to help him find his soul-mate but the Prince had bowed to Duty and was waiting in misery now.

The pink Princess was ascending the stairs now, held back a little by her heavy train and the millions of pearls and pink sapphires sewn into it. Her brother was truly supporting her now and Ronon allowed himself a small smile at the ridiculous lengths the girl had gone to, just to attend a wedding – even if she was the bride! At least he knew that the girl fancied the Prince.

Ronon had to grasp the Prince’s elbow when she finally made it to the balcony, otherwise he would still have been waiting, facing the chandelier.

Prince John bowed to his future brother-in-law, then to his bride, while his bride bowed to Elizabeth and then to her groom. Woolsey stepped forward and began his long speech of welcome, while the Duke of Kavanaugh watched the bride with jealousy.

There was a musical thud and then a second. Everyone turned to look at the Gate, which had sprung to life again and was registering three more symbols, then a sixth. The Gate rippled into life and whooshed, the lights suddenly lit up brightly, the music changed to a far less stately anthem and the oppressive heat lessened – a gentle, lightly perfumed breeze wafted through the over-filled rooms and a lone figure stepped through the Gate.

He wasn’t disguised this time. He wore the same clothes, the same full skirted jacket, the same pale blue pants, the same embroidered shirt but this time there was no hiding, even though he wore the little blue shield openly and lit.

John turned along with everyone else, and was the first to move after the initial shock. He dropped his bride’s hand and ran to the steps. Half way down the staircase he stopped being careful and took the steps two at a time, jumping down the last few. Then, he stopped, checked and then cried out.

“Meredith!”

There was a gasp as John ran to his beloved and the new arrival stopped him.

“You know, I really hate that name,” Rodney groused, with a smile.

John laughed for what felt like the first time in years. “Your pardon… Rodney.”

Then he bent and kissed Rodney in front of everyone.

On the balcony, Mara of the Tower looked on in astonishment, and then, overcome with heat and heavy clothing, she fainted.

~

Politically speaking, it was a disaster but John had just kissed Meredith… or whatever he was called, in front of everyone… not just the court this time but everyone!

“This will mean war!” Woolsey stated tremulously.

“I know!” Elizabeth ground out, wringing her hands. “Think, Richard! Think!”

“He can’t marry him, Ma’am!”

“I know!”

“The succession… the shame… the poor bride…”

“I KNOW!”

The guests from the Tower were bunched together, obviously discussing what could be done and a strange, dark-haired man with a funny accent, broke between the Regent and the Chamberlain.

“Ye do realize that the answer’s staring at ye!”

“I beg your pardon?” Elizabeth demanded regally.

“Well, look over there!” Carson pointed.

Woolsey and Elizabeth looked over at the scene on the balcony, where the Duke of Kavanaugh was supporting the Princess Mara.

“Oh c…!” Woolsey just avoided swearing.

“No… wait!” Elizabeth suddenly saw what the strange man was pointing out and she moved over to the over-dressed people. “Kavanaugh?”

“Aunt Elizabeth?”The duke looked up reluctantly from the lady he was holding.

“Do you… are you…?” The Regent waved her hand vaguely between the two of them.

“Oh yes!” Kavanaugh enthused. “Isn’t she amazing?”

“No… you are the amazing one!” Mara blushed.

“Then…”

“Oh yes, anything!” Kavanaugh pleaded and then he drew the Princess towards him and they kissed.

Woolsey managed a very sedate and almost unseen ‘Yes!’ and then he put on his diplomat’s face and went over to stand by the Regent, who was now approaching Lord Tavius and his own Chamberlain, Lord Otho.

“Your Highness…” Elizabeth bowed. “This is an unfortunate event but… well, these things have a habit of turning out right in the end. You do realize, I hope, that your sister’s marriage to the Duke of Kavanaugh would leave her in the same position as if she had married Prince John?”

“Him? How can Mara marrying him be helpful?” Lord Tavius demanded, skeptically.

“Your Highness forgets that the Duke is the next in line to the throne of Pegasus,” Lord Otho told the Lord Protector. “Should the marriage between the Prince and this… Meredith go ahead, their children, should they have any, will have to fight for the succession.”

“Oh!” Tavius nodded, smiling happily (and a bit stupidly, Woolsey thought). “Oh, OK then. They can come to us then. We can do a wedding at home, can’t we?”

“Of course, Highness.” Otho smiled and bowed. “I shall inform the Princess of your decision.”

“Do we get to eat now?” Tavius asked.

***

This wedding was a far lovelier affair. Prince John was wearing the same clothes but his very apparent joy made him look devastatingly handsome.

When the trumpets sounded to announce the arrival of his Consort-to-be, John kept his eyes trained on the Chamberlain, not yet ready to see Rodney.

The first people through the gate were Kolya and his children. They waltzed in as though this was a ceremony for them but barely anyone took any notice of them. They climbed the stairs to the balcony and then waited while the orchestra changed their tune to the Bridal Voluntary… a piece that had been used by every Prince of Atlantis for this occasion since the Ancestors themselves lived in the city. It was the one that Atlantis had completely refused to play for the original occasion.

Rodney appeared, dressed in blue, standing alone on the platform and John couldn’t help turning to look. For a moment, Rodney looked overwhelmed by the faces turned towards him and the small bows that people gave him. Then he looked up and John and Rodney’s eyes met.

From that moment, Rodney was transformed from a minor Noble to a worthy Consort. His face lit up and his smile was so wide that it hid the slope on the left side of his mouth. His head came up and he advanced, down the first few steps and then up the grand staircase, heading towards his fiancé.

John felt a little sad that Rodney had no one to stand up for him but then something extraordinary happened. A bright white light appeared on the stairs next to Rodney, and it flared beautifully, before picking up a few colours… yellow, blue, black… The light then dimmed a little and suddenly the bright thing came into focus.

It was a man. It was the same man who had popped up at the disturbance of the first wedding. He had dark black hair and bright blue eyes, he wore the costume of the Ancients (which John privately thought looked a little like pajamas) and he grinned at Rodney. Rodney flung his arms around him and spoke quietly but the Ancient looked around and took Rodney’s arm, leading him up to the balcony.

At the top Rodney bowed to Elizabeth and then to John, then Woolsey spoke, using a highly edited version of his speech of welcome.

“My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Atlantis on this most joyous occasion! We are here to witness the marriage of Prince John Patrick Sheppard, Crown Prince of Atlantis and Lord Meredith Rodney McKay-Kolya of Canada. Who stands for Prince John?”

“I do!” Sir Ronon, dressed in very fine clothes and looking quite tame, stepped forward.

“Who are you?”

“I am… Sir Ronon Dex, the Prince’s Companion at arms.”

“Is the Prince free to marry this man?”

“He is.” Ronon agreed, then stepped back.

“Who stands for Lord Meredith?”

There was a hush at this moment as everyone strained hear who this mysterious Ancient was.

“I do.”

“Who are you?” Lord Woolsey asked, seriously wishing to know.

“I am Dr Carson Beckett of Atlantis, an Alteran… whom you refer to as the Ancestors. I am Lord Meredith’s Godfather.”

It took a few moments for the rumbling chat to die down.

“Is Lord Meredith free to marry this man?” Woolsey went back to the script.

“He is,” Carson affirmed.

After that the ceremony went according to ancient protocol. Each swore to love each other until death, each swore to be there for each other in times of hardship as well as good times and so on. They each gave each other a plain gold ring for their ring fingers and then, hand in hand, they went to kneel before The Lady Regent, Elizabeth.

“Be it known,” Elizabeth announced, “That the Council of Atlantis give their blessing to this union. I now pronounce John Patrick Sheppard and Meredith Rodney, Prince and Consort of Atlantis!”

This was the signal for everyone to cheer and Elizabeth took a hand from each man and raised him up. Then she joined their hands and whispered something. John led Rodney to the front of the balcony, where he conformed to tradition and kissed his new Consort.

Finally, with all the cheering going on, the couple had a moment to speak to each other.

“You look amazing!” John enthused, still not quite believing that Rodney was now his, forever.

“You always look amazing, John,” Rodney blushed.

“You will be such a fine Consort.”

“Of course, I’m a genius!” Rodney grinned and then John kissed him again but this time they both giggled and John brought Rodney into his arms.

“I love you so much,” Rodney sighed, resting his head on his husband’s shoulder.

“I love you too,” John answered, pulling his husband even closer.

“My Lords?” John and Rodney pulled away a little and turned to Lord Woolsey, who was rolling his eyes affectionately. “May we proceed?”

John grinned and Rodney raised his eyes heavenward but now they came to the really important part.

As the trumpets called the tune, the orchestra started playing the March to the Throne Room and John held Rodney’s hand and led him down the corridor.

They were followed by all the guests who crammed behind them into the throne room to witness this, the truly solemn and imperative ceremony.

John and Rodney stood before the Lady Regent and the Lord Chamberlain. Both were wearing their chains of office and on a table nearby, there lay another thick gold chain with jewels and a large pendant that looked just like Rodney’s shield.

“Prince John Patrick Sheppard, do you swear to uphold the laws of Atlantis?” The Lady Regent, Elizabeth of Atlantis demanded.

“I do,” John replied, solemnly.

“Do you swear to listen to the wishes of the Council before all decisions you may make ?”

“I do.”

“Do you swear to protect your people and the people of the Galaxy to the uttermost extent of you ability?”

“I do.”

At this, Elizabeth picked up the heavy Chain and carefully placed it over John's head. This was the symbol of power in Atlantis and it flashed brightly as John connected with it, before dimming down to leave, what looked like a large sapphire hanging from the Chain.

After this, Elizabeth turned to Rodney. “Lord Consort, Meredith Rodney, do you swear to uphold the laws of Atlantis?”

“I do.”

“Do you swear to listen to the wishes of the Council before all decisions you make?”

“I do.”

“Do you swear to protect your people and the people of the Galaxy to the uttermost extent of you ability?”

“I do.”

“Then, by the will of the Council and with my blessing, I pronounce you King and Prince Consort of Atlantis. All Hail King John!” Elizabeth proclaimed, giving Rodney's hand to John asa symbol of their union.

Everyone shouted back, “All Hail King John!”

Then Elizabeth led the second shout, “All Hail Prince Meredith!”

Then everyone knelt, some more stiffly than others, and even Rodney bowed to the King, who held out his hand and led his husband to the dais where the Chair waited.

As soon as he seated himself, John knew that all was well. Atlantis was happy and as he tipped himself back in the chair, it lit up a bright blue.

Rodney took his husband’s hand and said,

“Think of where we are in the universe.”

Immediately a full map of stars and planets appeared over the chair and everyone sighed with relief as they stood once more.

“Did I do that?” John asked during the scuffling.

“Yes.” Rodney grinned and they both watched the stars dance.

Atlantis had given her blessing to the Royal Couple. The King was the man with the strongest gene and the nearest to an actual Ancient that this Galaxy possessed, while his Consort was the sort of man who could find ingenious solutions to all kinds of problems, who could direct the King in his use of the technology and who would love and support his husband forever.

Although they didn’t know it, this union marked the beginning of a long era of peace and prosperity but for now John and Rodney sat together and watched the stars, knowing that this was how it was meant to be.

The End (and I guess they all lived Happily Ever After!)