She would have said it smelled like horse, but she'd never been so close to one until now. She could tell by the galloping though, it was like hitting a pothole with your bike over and over again. The thought of her internal organs playing musical chairs amused her slightly, she might have even smiled a little, but didn't dare open her eyes. She decided that avoiding eye contact at all costs is crucial. Postpone the embarrassment, I repeat, postpone the embarrassment. Over and out. Being so close to another human usually meant she was bound to do something incredibly stupid.

Prior to the awkward sack-of-potatoes horse ride, unbeknownst to her, the brothers looked at her like she had seven heads and decided what they were to do with her, while she lay on the ground, on her backpack, looking like a cockroach that was flipped and now couldn't get up. Neither of them knew what to make of her, but in the end decided to take her back to Kattegat on a horse, like they often would give a ride to their younger brother. Bjorn would know better, since their father left they went to him for advice.

They would have assumed she was just a lost girl who wandered a bit too far from the nearby village or a hunter, but her clothes were a dead giveaway. The dark red shirt had no sleeves, didn't look like it was keeping her warm at all, and her trousers didn't look like they were doing a better job either. Why would anyone wear such clothes in this kind of weather? They talked about her all the way to Kattegat, even if she heard a couple of words, she couldn't understand them. Her hair was long and dark brown, unlike most people in those lands, and didn't have a single braid in it. Not one. It was just long, slightly wavy, and the elastic didn't do much to keep it in place. It used to be a bun that morning when she looked into the mirror and did her hair and make-up, but of course, now most of her hair was down.

Ubbe, being the responsible brother, grabbed the metal thing? device? from her face, and put it in one of his front pockets, careful not to break it. He's never seen such a thing before, but he assumed it was some kind of jewelry her people wore. It was nicely crafted and the glass seemed flawless, certainly wouldn't survive being thrown off a horse. He quickly considered it to be a magical object, but she didn't look anything like a seer and dismissed this thought. Not a seer, certainly not a warrior either. She looked more like a twig than anything else, no way she could lift a sword or a shield with only one hand. The thought of her trying to wield one was hilarious, she would be like a young child learning how to fight from her parents, clumsily swinging a tiny wooden sword.

Her backpack was tossed to Sigurd, who, instead of finding any supplies or survival tools, as you would expect to find in the backpack of someone travelling by themselves through the woods, found only books and papers. All of her possessions made absolutely no sense. From her wallet to the t-shirt neatly folded placed under the pile of books, they weren't familiar to the Vikings. Her notes would have been way more useful if they knew how to read, they would have given them at least a clue. They couldn't ride any faster either, as carrying an unconscious girl needed to be done with slightly more care.

Although she stirred, Ubbe pretended not to see it. It was more than obvious she was completely terrified by their first encounter, and didn't want to scare her any further, for fear she might overreact, move unexpectedly and fall of the horse or spook it. If she didn't understand his questions the first and second time she certainly wasn't going to understand it out of the blue if he kept repeating it. It didn't matter anyways, Kattegat was close enough, if you looked closely you could see the smoke rising from the chimneys. Sigurd followed closely, and one could tell by the look on his face he was just as concerned. "Yes, Bjorn will know what to do, he always does." both of them thought, but it sounded more like they were trying to convince themselves rather than a fact. If they were to actually say it out loud, it would be completely obvious even to a half-wit that they were lying.

Meanwhile, Lisa convinced herself they were hardcore LARP-ers, and that they didn't allow themselves to be out of character even in this kind of situation. The role playing would end by the end of the day, they'll say "Hi! My name is John, and this is my friend, Matthew, hope we didn't cause you much trouble", and then go back to her comfortably ordinary life. It was a terrible theory, but she refused to accept the fact that this might be true. She had nowhere to run either, as she was stuck between a horse and what she suspected to be a rather muscular man. It was as if she was leaning against a wall, not a human being. Both her brothers were short and stocky. They were strong too, but no matter how much they worked out they couldn't lose the layer of fat around their torsos and hugging them is like holding a soft teddy bear. She decided to learn from their mistakes and not waste any time trying to lose her clubby thighs or stomach. This was certainly not the case with this man.

Her eyes were closed, but she could clearly hear a number of people talking around her. She must be in a village or a city by the sound of it, she could even hear the cattle and the petty merchants. This also meant her horse ride would shortly come to an end. The uncertainty was killing her. She couldn't wait to get off the gigantic beast (how people could casually ride animals that can easily kick your teeth in, she couldn't understand), but at the same time she would have to give some explanations in a language she didn't speak. She'd rather spend the rest of her life on horseback.

Although only moments ago she promised herself to postpone it, she reluctantly opened her eyes. The other guy had already dismounted, and in an awkward game of "Toss the stranger", he helped her off the horse as the other one kept the horse still. She hesitated. She didn't know a word in their language, and every single interaction will certainly prove to be difficult. She paused, stood up straight on her wobbly feet, looked at both of them and said "Thank you" as clearly as she could. Even though they didn't speak English, they seemed to get the message and nodded. Maybe it was the look on her face that spoke louder than words. It didn't matter though. One of them already stepped into the relatively large building, and the other one put a hand on her back and pushed slightly. She slowly stepped forwards, and even though she was terrified, went inside. For something looking like a feudal village, this place was surely important. She just assumed it would be more modest, but the sight proved her wrong once again.

The small room felt cramped compared to the great hall she just saw. Not that she wasn't grateful, it was heaven compared to the forest. In such a short span of time she almost forgot about it, the time she spent there was a blur in her memory, she could have wandered for years or minutes for all she knew. She hated the thought of being in a room with a stranger, even though she didn't have any reason not to trust his intentions. He did bring her here after her consciousness decided to bail on her, something he wasn't obligated in any way to do, but chose to anyways. That thought didn't stop her from flinching and taking a step back when he put a hand on her shoulder, something that was supposed to be reassuring. Ubbe tried again. He took a step back, put his hand up and told her to stay. She only raised her eyebrows inquisitively. He tried again with no prevail, the girl didn't know a single word of his language.

Striding across the room, he patted the bed and repeated himself for the umpteenth time. Saying she was mortified was the understatement of the year. Did he want her in his bed? Was this actually happening? Out of all the scenarios she imagined, this wasn't one of them, and she certainly wasn't going to let it just happen. She turned on her heel and tried to reach the door, but he was faster. Of course he was, what did she imagine? Outrunning athletic people wasn't an option! He put his hands on either side of her, but that didn't help in the slightest, it only amplified the total panic. He grabbed her by her waist, picked her up like she weighed nothing, carried her to the bed and then said once again in his strange language "Stay!" while pointing his finger at the ground. She stopped and stared at him for a moment.

He then quickly left, as if finding strangers and leaving them in your home is completely normal, everyday stuff really. She sat alone on the bed, with her head in her hands and her mind far far away. What is this? When she finally got up and went to the small window she realized one essential detail. They took her glasses.