I woke up with the most massive headache I'd ever had. As I slowly opened my eyes, I wasn't sure if I was awake for real or still in a dream. I stared at the wooden ceiling that slanted upwards to form an "A" like an ancient Greek temple roof.
The room was almost dark and the bed that I was lying on felt too soft and uncomfortable. It shifted under my weight. I turned my aching head to look around while trying to get up. A pair of huge, startled eyes looked back at me from the side of the bed.
"Aaahh!!" She let out a squeaky cry of excitement. It was a tiny little girl about six years old.
"MOM! DAD! GRAND..." More people came rushing into the room.
A tall looking man with a concerned face walked towards the bed while quickly glancing at the woman behind him.
"Selma, start the fire!"
The woman swiftly moved to a fireplace nearby. It suddenly dawned on me that there was no electricity in this room. There were no windows either which I thought was very odd. I looked around and could only see a few pieces of dark-stained furniture and a lot of fur and wool everywhere.
Who are these people?
Before the tall man could say anything to me, there was someone else behind him who moved slowly towards me. She was an older looking woman with blonde hair and blue eyes that looked slightly teary.
"You are alive!" She said in a quavering voice and gently patted my head. She then sat down next to my bed.
"Oh, Allena! You gave us all quite a scare. Mother has been crying all night," said the man while hugging me tightly.
Mother? His mother?! Who is he? AND WHO IS ALLENA? I was very confused. Blinding headaches probably cause hallucinations. I was about to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming.
"Your father went to fetch the Druid again. We felt that you had stopped breathing." The older woman said.
Did I hear Druid? Like a Celtic Druid?
"What's happening? Is she awake??" Another tall man walked in and his voice sounded like a foghorn to me.
He was probably the other man's younger brother. They both had the same kind of wavy sandy hair, average build, and a slightly turned-up nose.
"Say something, please," the older woman said pleadingly to me.
"W-where am I?" I asked.
They exchanged shocked looks before the younger brother turned to me and spoke.
"Holy shit! That head injury took her memory away," he exclaimed.
"Shut up, Devin!" The older brother yelled at him. He looked tensed.
"Her next question is going to be, who the hell are you all?" Devin said while looking at me.
"Do you remember anything about the fall?" Selma had finally started the fire and was now standing next to the older brother. Her face looked grim but she had sparkly eyes and a pure, gentle kind of smile.
"The fall?" I asked.
"Yes, you fell off your horse and became unconscious almost immediately."
I can't ride a horse.
"No, I don't remember anything of that sort," I said slowly, "How did I fall?"
Tears were slowly flooding her eyes.
"Iona said you got distracted. She was up by your side all night and went to bed just now."
I was distracted when I was hit by the bus too.
"Iona..?" I asked.
"Iona is your sister, Allena." Devin replied in a sad tone, "And I am your brother, Devin. This is Aiden, your oldest brother," he tapped on his brother's shoulder and then pointed to Selma. "His wife." He paused when the older woman stood up.
"I am Boann, your mother darling." The older woman's voice cracked and she was in tears. She held my hand tightly.
The little girl I saw earlier walked into the room with another girl who looked about my age. She must be Iona. She had blue eyes like her mother, but her hair was not blonde. It was a beautiful shade of red, auburn maybe. Unlike her brothers who had olive skin tone, her skin was pale and translucent.
"Allenaa..!" She sprinted towards me and hugged me excitedly, "I was so worried."
"She doesn't know you," Devin told her, "Cannot remember a thing! She has been staring at us ever since she woke up."
"Tell me you are kidding," Iona said looking at me in anticipation.
I remained silent and confused.
"Father will be here anytime with the Druid," said Aiden.
I panicked. Aren't Druids some kind of crazy people? I may be wrong but I think they perform cruel rituals like human sacrifice. I was more worried about my identity though. Was I lying in a hospital in a comatose condition dreaming about this crazy situation? Or was I dead and possessed this Allena's body? If I was a ghost, I was a very stupid one to choose this time period. Why didn't I go see the future instead?
"You should get some rest. We will wake you up again when our father returns." Aiden said, and he looked at everyone.
Mother kissed my forehead and left quietly with the little girl. Aiden and Selma followed her. Devin gave me an awkward smile and squeezed my arm before leaving. Iona did not leave.
I was wondering if Druids could identify a possessed person. Was I really a ghost? It didn't make sense though. I cannot feel the presence of another person or voice inside me. I am able to communicate with these people in their language, without knowing what language they are speaking in. Is this a parallel universe?
"Iona," I hesitated, "Why was I distracted before falling off the horse?"
Iona smiled faintly.
"You got upset when you saw your future husband riding his horse with his girlfriend on the other side of the river."
"I-What?"
"He is going to come to see you with his family tomorrow. Father struck a deal with them last week and you have been very agitated about it."
"Tell me more, please. Why was I agitated?
"You love someone else from our tribe. His name is Neill. And he doesn't love you back."
Great! When did someone ever love me back? Time travel, reincarnation; nothing can change that.
"Who is this future husband?" I asked.
"He is a Roman guy. His family and his entire legion have been camping out on our lands for the last one year. They have a huge fortress back home. He is the legion commander; his father is a former praetor and governs many provinces. His brothers are prefects of the guard and his brothers-in-law are camp prefects. They are a powerful family and they promised dad Roman citizenship in exchange. Although we hate Romans and they call us barbarians, father fancies a Roman way of life."
"I don't get it. Why does he want to marry me?"
"Our father is the chief of the tribe. He agreed to provide slaves, animals, copper, silver, gold, zinc, and lead to the Romans."
"We have slaves?" I couldn't hide my disgust. I always felt lucky to be born in the twenty-first century.
"Yes, we have a lot of slaves that we acquired by defeating other tribes, and also some of them are actually former Roman soldiers. Roman armies have soldiers fighting for them who are from France, Germany, Africa, Spain, the Middle East."
"Are they buying them back from us then?"
"No, they want to use slaves to power catapults during the war, and do all the heavy lifting in their construction projects. They are building aqueducts, arches, straight roads to march into battle. They also use them for housework."
"And animals?" I asked.
"Our father and a few other tribes supply them to fight against gladiators."
I sighed. I do not like this father. He is hurting people, animals, and clearly does not care that I love some Neill.
"If I love Neill, and if I do not want to marry this Roman guy, then why was I upset when I saw him with his girlfriend?"
"You started tearing up suddenly and it was strange. You said you will never have a love story as they do; the passionate kind. One minute you were crying and cussing Neill for rejecting you while turning back to look at the couple, and next minute you were on the ground with your forehead bleeding."
"Do you people use mirrors?" I realized that I didn't know how Allena looked.
"Of course! You think we live in the Stone Age or what?"
She opened a drawer nearby and passed a hand mirror to me.
F**k!
My dad is a Filippino and my mom is part Black and part Irish. People thought I was Egyptian or Indian. I had jet black hair with brown eyes. But the girl I was looking at in the mirror had blue eyes, honey blonde hair, and pale olive skin. Her lips were bruised from the fall and the nose had a small gash. It was a sweet, innocent face with kind eyes; I liked her.
"Allena," I heard my "new mom's" voice, "The Druid is here."
I didn't think it was possible but the intensity of my headache doubled.