Chapter One

430 A.D.

Thrungii Village

East of Lower Weser River. Europe

The smell of burnt wood entered into the girl's nose as she crawled along the dirt, following the sound of the female voice calling out. Smoke burned her eyes as she opened them, seeing the gray cloud just above her head.
No one told her what happened, but she knew it was important. Mama and Papa used their important voices when moving her into the corner. One minute she was listening to her mother tell her about the new baby that was coming to join her and Franco and the next a loud rumble could be heard in the village. It sounded like it did when there was the festival of Austro, but Jane couldn't hear the laughing she was used to. She couldn't hear the twinkling sound that usually accompanied the drums. But she did hear the drums, and screaming and she could smell something else with the wood. It was similar to the smell in the firepit when there was rabbit.

"Please no! " Jane stopped crawling at the sound of the voice, knowing she was close to Mama again. Her voice was right there, but she couldn't see her. She could hear her brother Franco crying. Mama always helped him when he cried. Why wasn't she helping him?

Everything in her wanted to stand and run, but she remember the words her father said. Stay to the ground baby girl. Don't get up. If you have to move crawl. Paper had left right after the drums started, leaving her and mama in the hut. There were tears in mama's eyes when he left, grabbing the sword she has seen him carry many times when he went to spar with Uncle Gero but this time there was no smile on his face.

"Mama!" she called out.

"Oh is there someone else in here?" she heard the voice right before a hand gripped her arm, pulling her into the air.

"No! Jane!" she heard mama say. Jane was held tightly to the chest of the man what grabbed her. The man's eyes were blue, like ice or a cold sky, a color she had never seen on a face before, as he pulled her against his hip as papa did. He smiled too, but unlike papa's smile this man scared her. His smile didn't reach his eyes, which remained cold.

"Leave her alone!"

"Oh don't worry I just wanna ask her some questions," he said. "You name is Jane? How old are you Jane?"

"Th-Three winters," she said. She didn't know why, but he made her tummy hurt. His face was scary although he was smiling at her. And he was making mama cry. Jane moved to leave, but his grip tightened. She struggled and could feel his arm squeeze around her waist, making her tummy hurt worse. "Put me down!" she screamed.

"Oh don't be scared Jane. I'm a friend. I'm just visiting you for a little bit." He pulled out a shiny piece of metal. It was little. It was small like the one's mama used when making dinner, but it was shiny like papa's sword. "Do you know what this is Jane?"

"No!" she could hear mama say as he showed the metal. "Please she is just a baby."

"Come on Jane, tell me what this is." He said ignoring mama.

"A little sword." She said and he let out a laugh. It was scary just like his smile. "Yes it's like a little sword. It does things like a sword too." The man smiled bigger and Jane could feel herself wanting to cry. She didn't want to cry, she had to be brave like papa, but this man was scary.

"I…I want my papa." she said.

"OK we'll wait for papa. But first let me show you what my little sword can do." Jane saw her mother start coming toward them but the man put the little sword up to her neck and mama stopped. Crying even harder. "Don't move. Or I'll make sure Wōđanaz gets a new helper soon."

"Please, Please….." mama said. Jane couldn't help it as she felt the hot tears falling. It was too scary and papa wasn't here.

"Hey hey don't cry yet little one. I haven't showed you what it does," he whispered in her ear. "Here let me show you." Jane cringed as he moved the shiny metal from her neck to her arm and smiled.

"Noooo!" she heard mama scream with her. It hurt. It hurt worse than the time she fell when she tried to get on papa's horse. It hurt worse than when she touched mama's pot near the fire. It hurt more than anything.

Jane screamed and cried as the man laughed harder, pushing mama on the floor when she grabbed at his arm.

"Leave them alone!" she heard papa's voice as the scary man yelled and she fell out of his arms. There was so much red stuff on her arm and she couldn't stop crying.

"It's ok Janie….its ok baby. Papa is here." She felt papa pick her up and wrap a cloth on her arm that hurt so much. He stood up quickly looking at where the scary man fell, a large stone covered in red next to the head, before grabbing mama and pushing her toward Franco.

"Angela, get Franco we have to go! It's the Huns!" She knew she was in papa's arms, but she couldn't stop crying. It hurt. It hurt so much and she was scared and confused. What was a Huns? Where were they going? She wanted to ask Papa, but she couldn't with the tears that kept coming.

Papa turned and grabbed several big packs from the back of the hut and rushed out the front of the tent. He still carried his sword as he slowed down pulling mama up close to them and pushing her toward the forest. Toward the big river where they would get fish.

"Go towards the Wesser!"

"Papa. I'm scared." She managed to say. It was hard to speak, her chest was hurting and there was so much of the red stuff still coming from her arm that hurt. Jane wasn't sure what was happening but it was hard to keep her eyes open. She could see fire everywhere, like all around her was a big fire pit. The smell like the burnt rabbit war stronger out here and she could hear more yelling and more horses. She was really sleepy. She could hear mama and papa screaming at her, but she couldn't get the words to come out anymore. She knew they were outside and she thought she saw papa get Egino from the rest of the horses…

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"Jane baby. It's papa. Please open your eyes baby." She could hear papa's voice. "Angela, bring some more water." Jane struggled to open her eyes, seeing nothing but fuzzy shapes, just like she did after nap, except she didn't remember when mama put her down to sleep. Mama had been telling her a story, saying they were going to get another baby like Franco. There was smoke and a scary face with eyes like the sky…

"PAPA!" she screamed when she opened her eyes. The man was hurting her. He hurt her arm. He was making mama cry. Papa wasn't there.

"Shh! Shh baby." Jane felt a hand running in her long wild black hair and looked up to see brown eyes not blue. They were eyes just like hers that she saw when she looked in the pond. Those same eyes that looked at her when she was being told stories. It was a face similar to hers, same high cheekbones and long nose, same somewhat thin lips, and dimpled chin. It was papa.

"Papa…" she said much quieter this time. They were outside, but she saw a fire and didn't hear the sounds of drums or smell the smoke anymore. Maybe it didn't happen. Maybe it was just a dream. She thought this until she moved it sit and felt her arm, and started to cry.

"Papa…what...I hurt." She said. He nodded and reached down to put some green mush on her arm. "It hurts!" she screamed as the mush made her arm sting before her wrapped it with a cloth that mama gave him.

"I know baby. I know. But this will make it feel better." He said smoothing down the furrowed brow that looked up at him. She continued to frown, but as he kept running his hand along her face, slowly the frown melted, as she closed her eyes again, feeling the pain in her arm start to fade away.

"When are we going home papa," she asked quietly falling asleep.

"We're going to find a new home baby."