The Cobwebs of Time

I finally finished this drawing! I started it about two months ago, but I had very little time to work at it.
I also made a story related to it. Please forgive my lack of writing skills and my poor English.I’m not quite ready to make a fanfic in a foreign language, but i really wanted to do this for a while. Also, this drawing really has no sense without a back story.
This is just the first part. The next one will come soon.

Here is the story:



“Jackson, correct me if I’m wrong, but is that Zhang Ziyi coming towards us?”
“No, that’s a young woman with Asian features coming towards us,” Daniel answered, his face slightly amused.
“Ok, just checking.” Mitchell instinctively rested his hand on his P90 and stopped walking, the rest of the team doing the same.
“Who’s Zhang Ziyi? “ The blond heard a whisper in her ear. She switched her attention from the small device she was holding in her hand to her raven-haired friend. Sam could not stop a small smile to form on her lips. “It’s the lead actress of a movie called ‘Memories of a Geisha.’”
“Oh...” Vala furrowed her brow. It was obvious that the information didn’t help her too much.
The archaeologist looked around and briefly scanned the buildings surrounding them, then tried to give an academic feel to the conversation. “Judging by the architectural style and vestimentation, the inhabitants of this planet seem to have common ancestors with the people living in north-eastern Asia.”
Mitchell stared at him with a puzzled expression, “And by north-eastern Asia you mean...”
“Japan,” Daniel sighed.
“Colonel Mitchell,” a deep voice made the air behind the two men tremble, “you remind me of Colonel O’Neill.”
“You said that before, Teal’c.”
“Indeed.” The answer was simple, yet full of meaning.
Mitchell wanted to say something more, but Daniel’s voice interrupted him.
“Hello,” he said, “we are peaceful explorers from a planet called Earth.”
The young female was now standing before them, her dark eyes perfectly matching her hair gazing in wonder at the man who spoke to her.
The long sleeves of her kimono almost touched the ground, making her look ridiculous, in Vala’s opinion.
Seeing that he won’t receive an answer anytime soon, Daniel added, just to make sure: “We mean you no harm.”
“I know,” the words suddenly came from the girl’s cherry lips, “Come.” She started walking in front of them, pulling a beautiful fan out of the folds of her kimono.

***********************************************

The room they entered was dim lightened, large, with simple furniture. The low table in the center was covered with all types of food with a very delicious aspect, several assortments of fruits and vegetables none of the member of the team could even name and five glasses half filled with a very strange looking liquid.
“All these are for you,” a soft voice came from the same cherry lips. “I hope that it will please you. Unfortunately, we found out about your arrival too late for more thoroughly prepares.”
Sam recovered first from the shock: “So, you knew we were coming.”
“Yes.”
“But how?”
The woman ignored the question and continued: “My name is Hoshiko and I am the leader of this village.”
A huge grin appeared on Vala’s face, “I’m starting to like her.”
Daniel bumped her shoulder with his, to prevent her from saying anything else, and made a step forward.
“My name is Daniel Jackson. This is Va-“
“I know who you all are.” She wanted to say more, but a group of females entered the room. “I must leave, now. My servants are at your disposal.” And with that, she was gone, leaving a very puzzled team behind.
“Ok...” Mitchell was the first to speak, “was that weird, or what?”
Daniel made the first step in figuring out the mystery, “There must be a logical explanation to all this,” he said. “Maybe she saw the M.A.L.P. we sent through the gate before we left Earth and she suspected that people will come.”
“But how do you explain she knew who we are?” Sam asked.
“Oh please,” Vala’s loud and sudden voice drew the attention to its owner, “I bet she was just trying to make herself look less boring than she actually is. There is no proof she knew we are coming and certainly there is no proof she knew our names! She was just showing off in front of us and her people.”
“Princess has a point,” Mitchell agreed.
The raven-haired woman nodded, the pride and content being easy to read on her face. Just when she was about to tell her friends how many people acting like this girl she met and how they eventually proved themselves to be complete losers, a warm hand rested on her shoulder. It was the hand of one of the servants. That was highly unusual.
The servant invited the guest to have a sit on the soft pillows placed around the table and when they all settled, she made a sign to the rest of the women accompanying her. They all nodded at the same time and left the room in silence.
That gave Daniel time to take a better look at this strange person. She looked older than the others did and she apparently treated them with superiority. The wrinkles at the corner of her eyes deepened as she smiled and took a seat as well.
She took a deep breath and addressed to the strangers in front of her with a soft voice. “You should eat. All these are for you.”
Daniel looked around and saw that none of his friends made any move. Well, except Vala, who tried to reach a fruit but stopped immediately when she saw that no one dared to touch the food. Something was wrong; she sensed it, too. Then, she turned her attention to Daniel, who announced his compromise with a sigh.
“Jackson!” Mitchell’s whispered, but sharp voice almost made him jump.
“It’s ok, Cam. If we refuse them, they might consider it an insult.”
The servant smiled at the team leader’s concern, then picked up a bowl with some sort of food that Daniel couldn’t even describe and she offered it to him. He took the bowl and prayed that the food tastes at least as good as it looks.
“Hey,” he said after the first bite, “this tastes like chicken.”
Sam was the only one who couldn’t help but chuckle. Colonel O’Neill once told her about Daniel’s first meal on Abydos and she found the story very amusing.
“Great! I was starving!” Vala happily clapped her hands.
“I am Amaya,” spoke the woman. Everybody’s attention turned to her. “All that Hoshiko-san told you is true. She really saw your arrival and informed us about it yesterday.”
Teal’c listened silently and gave the woman a long look. “Are you implying that your leader knew about our arrival on this planet even before we did?”
Amaya stiffed a bit at the sound of his strong voice, but she came to her senses remarkably fast. “Yes. Hoshiko-san has the power to predict certain future events.”
“Do you have any idea how is she doing it?” The scientist inside the blonde woman asked.
“Unfortunately, no,” was the reply. Then she looked Daniel in the eyes. “Come with me,” she addressed to him.
“What? Where?” The archaeologist seemed very surprised.
“Don’t worry, Hoshiko-san is very wise. You have to trust her decisions.”
“Are you telling me that she told you to do this?” Mitchell reacted.
Daniel felt the atmosphere starting to rise and he really didn’t want to upset anyone. “Mitchell, it’s ok. I’m going with her. I don’t think these people pose a threat to us.”
“Jackson, you’d better be one hundred percent about this.” His tone sounded more like a warning.
“I am.”
Just when he was about to leave, he felt strong fingers squeezing his wrist. “Be careful,” her eyes were full of worry, “I have a really bad feeling about this,” she whispered in his ear.
He watched her releasing her wrist then throwing a frown to the servant.
After all, he had the tendency to get himself into trouble at every occasion, she thought.
“I’ll be ok, Vala.”

***********************************************

The road to the temple was uneventful. He tried to find out more about this mysterious Hoshiko, but the woman accompanying him prove herself to be really skilled in avoiding direct questions. At least he found out where they were heading.
“This is it,” she spoke after a long period of silence. “You must enter, now.”
“Wait, aren’t you coming, too? “ His voice betrayed his shock.
“I am not allowed.”
“Why?” The curiosity was too big to ignore.
“Hoshiko-san never lets anyone entering it,” came the well-expected answer.
“Of course she doesn’t,” a sarcastic smile brushed Daniel’s face for a second. He looked pensively at the door in front of him. In the battle between curiosity and precaution, the first one always wins. That is a constant.
As soon as he stepped in the temple, a beautiful dragon statue caught his eye. It was made of a material that looked like gold and it’s green eyes matching it’s claws and mane threw interesting reflections on the walls. He coughed lightly, in the attempt to send off the strong flavoured smell that was invading his nostrils, but it was in vain.
Inevitably, his eyes rested again on the strange statue. It looked as if it was guarding something and he believed he knew what. A small rectangular box with floral motifs seemed to be the object in need for protection.
Again, curiosity triumphed and Daniel slowly lifted the cover of the case. Nothing seemed unusual at first, but the crystal with an irregular shape that the box was sheltering started suddenly to glow. Ok, that can’t be good. He looked around, hoping that someone will come to reassure him that the glow was normal and that nothing bad will happen, but no one came.
Just when he wanted to look for some writing that could clarify his situation, he felt like the world was spinning around him. Oh, what a familiar feeling! Then, everything surrounding him blackened and he brusquely fell to the ground.