When Ethan opened his eyes, he found himself lying on a bed in an unfamiliar room.
Having suddenly recalled what happened to him, he abruptly propped himself up from the bed.
However, before he could even do anything, his head was assaulted by a stinging pain, as if his head was being stabbed by a large needle.
It took him a few minutes to regain his composure, and he started to look around in search of Lily, whom he was carrying before he blacked out.
It didn’t take long for him to realize that the young lady was unfortunately nowhere to be found.
Since his head was still hurting, he decided to check his surroundings to have a better understanding of the place he was currently in.
The bed was made from wood, cushioned only by straw and animal furs.
The walls were also made of wood, but the floor was made from reeds, which surprised him. A moment later, he realized that the room was also shaking, albeit slightly, which made him frown.
Aside from the bed, there was also a small table and a chair inside the room, which were also made of wood.
Just as he was about to force himself off from the bed, a little girl with long brown hair, who seemed to be around eight or ten years old, entered the room. She was carrying a bowl with a few herbs inside it.
After seeing that Ethan was awake, she smiled and put the bowl in her hands on top of the table before calling out to someone who was outside the room.
“Grandma, he’s awake!” the little girl shouted.
Ethan blinked in confusion. He was certain that the little girl was speaking a different language, and yet, he was able to understand what she was saying.
A few seconds later, an old lady, whose white hair was whiter than his own grandma’s, entered the room.
“It’s good to see that you are awake, young man,” the Old Lady said. “How are you feeling? You have been unconscious for three days.”
“T-Three days?!” Ethan gasped in shock. “D-Did you see a young lady when you found me? She is this tall and has long blonde hair that reaches past her shoulders?”
The Old Lady nodded. “Please, calm down young man. Your wife is safe.”
“W-Wife?”
“You’re not her husband? She told me that you were her husband.”
Before Ethan could even deny the old lady’s words, Lily entered the room and immediately hugged him.
“Darling! I’m glad that you are awake!” Lily said before hugging Ethan. “I thought that you were not going to make it. You scared me. Do you want me to become a widow right after we got married?”
Ethan was about to ask her, “just what are you talking about?”, but Lily winked at him twice, which made him hold back the words he was going to say.
Instead of refuting her, he played along because he believed that she wouldn’t do anything that would harm either of them.
“I’m sorry, but what happened to us?” Ethan asked. “I can’t remember much after I lost consciousness.”
Lily sighed in relief internally because Ethan was able to understand what she was trying to tell him. Since that was the case, she decided to tell him the story that she had “made up”, for the sake of their safety.
“We barely managed to escape from the Barbarians who were pursuing us from the North,” Lily said. “With no place to run, I decided to jump in the river with you, but I underestimated the strength of the current. I struggled to bring us to shore before passing out.
“Fortunately, Grandma Ria spotted us at the riverbank and took us in with the help of her tribe. If not for them, we might have died due to the injuries we suffered.”
Only after Lily finished her explanation did he notice that the young lady’s head was bandaged, which reminded him of the injury she suffered during their escape.
Ethan shifted his attention to the old lady and bowed his head.
“Thank you for saving us, Grandma Ria,” Ethan stated. “If there is anything we can do to repay this favor, don’t hesitate to ask us.”
The old lady chuckled. “Very well. I won’t hold back when the day comes that it will be our turn to ask for your help. For now, why don’t you eat something? You have been asleep for three days, and I’m pretty sure that you are starving right now.”
As if to confirm her statement, Ethan’s stomach growled, making the little girl, who brought the bowl of herbs inside the room, giggle.
“Jenna, get our guest something to eat,” Grandma Ria ordered before shifting her attention back to Ethan. “I’m sorry, but we don’t have much to offer except fruit and grilled fish. I hope that it will be to your liking.” 𝑜𝓥𝑙xt.𝒸𝑶𝓂
Jenna nodded her head and left the room with a smile.
“Thank you, Grandma Ria,” Ethan replied. “That is more than enough.”
The Old Lady nodded and said a few more things to Ethan before leaving the room. Jenna returned shortly and handed Ethan a small bowl containing a fruit he had never seen before, as well as a grilled fish.
After delivering the food, she excused herself and left the room.
When Lily was certain that it was only the two of them inside the room, she finally breathed a sigh of relief before looking at Ethan.
“I know you have a lot of questions, but for now, you must stick to the story that I am your wife, and you are my husband,” Lily whispered. “I am doing this in order to protect the two of us from this place, since we have no idea on what Era we are currently in or the customs of the people living in this timeline.”
“I understand, but why did you insist that we are husband and wife?” Ethan asked. “Can’t you just make us brother and sister, and even friends?”
Lily shook her head. “I can’t risk it. Women my age during ancient times were mostly married. If I said I wasn’t married, there was a chance that the eligible men of this tribe would start courting me. Rejecting them might not be in our best interest since we have no other place to go for the next few weeks.”
Ethan frowned. “What do you mean we have no other place to go?”
Lily sighed before walking towards the window and opened it. He then made a gesture for Ethan to come to her, which he did.
After looking outside the window, Ethan saw several wooden houses that were floating on the water. After careful inspection, he noticed that these houses were built upon countless reeds, which formed a small island.
Some islands had three houses, while some had four. Others only had two, and there were even very small ones that had only one house built on them.
Ethan then shifted his gaze in the direction where their house was going, and saw nothing but a vast expanse of sea for as far as the eye could see.
There were no signs of land anywhere, which made Ethan understand why Lily said that they had no place to go.
Basically, they were trapped on their own floating island, and the only way out was to wait until they made landfall.
Some of the men, who saw Lily standing near the window, waved at her with smiles on their faces.
Lily only smiled at them, but didn’t make any further gesture in order to encourage them to talk to her, or form a connection with her.
After Ethan had seen everything that he could see, the young lady closed the window and sighed.
“Those men are giving off the smell of beasts in heat,” Lily complained. “If I didn’t tell them that you and I are already married, they would have certainly made a move on me, which might have gotten ugly. So, until we find a way out of this place, and can look for clues about the Nexus that will bring us back to our own timeline, you will pretend that I am your wife, okay?”
“Understood,” Ethan replied before heaving a sigh.
“Go sit on the bed,” Lily said. “I will grind the medicinal herbs for you and help you clean your injury.”
Ethan obeyed and sat on the bed as he pondered his next move.
Now that they were stuck in the middle of nowhere, the only thing he could do was to rest, and wait for the right opportunity to look for the Nexus, that would take him, and Lily, back to their own timeline.
——————-
Author’s Note: Reader’s Challenge! If this novel gets 10 reviews, I will post 2 chapters daily for an entire week. After that, I will conduct another reader’s challenge, and as long as you guys hit the targets, I will maintain 2 chapters everyday.
Don’t worry, I won’t ask for anything too extreme. Kekeke! Goodluck, and may you reach the target!