Thrown Through Time

Chapter 5

When Ulriech finally made it up the steps to the front door of the building where she and Eirik were waiting, he had a look of smug satisfaction on his face and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her inside.

"Father, we've found her," he said to the man sitting at the head of a very long table. He gave her a good shove and threw her to the floor at the man's feet.

The sound of gasps could barely be heard over the sound of chairs scraping the floor as several of the men at the table stood up when Sophie leaped to her feet and lunged at him, his knife in her hand.

Eirik grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off her feet, pulling her away from his brother, whose face had turned white at how close she had come to sticking him with his dagger again.

Angry that Eirik had thwarted her again, she threw the knife at Ulriech as hard as she could. The handle hit him in the shoulder and it clattered to the ground at his feet. It was obvious to everyone in the room that the knife was his.

The men at the table, including the chief, stared at her as she fought to get free of Eirik's hold on her.

"This must be her!" one finally whispered.

"Eirik, bring her here!" the chief said.

"Be nice!" Eirik said, setting her back on her feet and leading her over to the man.

"What's your name, girl?" the chief asked.

"Sophie," she answered curtly, jerking her elbow free of Eirik's grasp.

The chief looked her up and down and walked around her as though he were checking a horse before purchasing it. She wondered if he would ask to check her teeth next.

"She's not bigger than a child!" he finally said. "How can someone so small be a great warrior as said in the prophesy?"

"She's taken on Ulriech and bested him thrice," Eirik said.

"That's not true!" Ulriech bellowed from across the room.

"She's had your dagger all morning and you weren't even aware of it until just now when she tried to stick you with it. Again." Eirik snapped. His voice echoed through the hall and Ulriech reconsidered arguing with him.

"She's beautiful to be sure," the chief said, glancing at Ulriech to judge his reaction. "Do you not think so, Ulriech?"

"Yes. She is." He said.

"Very well! She will marry Ulriech!"

"I will not!" she snapped. Her voice also echoed and every head in the room turned to stare at her.

"What did you say?" the chief asked.

"I will not marry him!" she repeated, loudly. "I'd rather gouge out my eyes and hack off both of my own feet before I'd ever marry the likes of him! I'd rather wade through a river of crocodiles after rolling in a vat of dead fish before I'd marry him. I'd even rather go swimming in the ocean, when the water's extra murky, while a whale carcass rots on the beach and I'm on my period to attract sharks before I'd ever-,"

"He's the chief's eldest son!" One of the other men said. "He stands to inherit great riches and status one day!"

She stared at him as though she was waiting for him to offer her some additional information that might actually entice her to accept. When she realized that was all he had, she burst out laughing. "You actually think that is supposed to make him look more appealing to me?"

The man blustered for a moment. "You would be the chief's wife!"

"You mean I'd be his wife," she snapped, pointing directly at Ulriech. "Which means I'd have to-," she gagged at the thought of sharing a bed with him and everyone took a step back.