A/N: This story takes a premise from Korean drama Moon Lovers, Scarlet Hearts: Goryo. In it, a modern day girl slips in time almost thousand years back and finds herself in the midst of the games of thrones - ancient Korea style. Her great love would eventually become an emperor, but would lose her. He was the unlikeliest to win the throne, partly because he was disfigured (ancient Koreans believed it to be a mark of misfortune) and partly because he had the reputation for violence and bad temper. Of course, there is more to that and he had the 'tragic backstory' cliche down.
Of course, I'm changing a lot of it. In fact, most of my story is different. Location, time-frame and no one would have a claim to a throne...
So, Kim travels in time and Jack is the disfigured and feared nobleman, set out to carve a place for himself.
Kim Crawford could honestly say that she had always had a talent for finding adventures. All sorts of unusual incidents and circumstances happened to her and she had gotten used to finding herself in tight spots. Living in North Carolina and being subjected to the rigors of the Southern upbringing, Kim had been a source of constant disappointment and chastisement for her mom and grandma. She was too much like a boy - running, climbing trees, getting dirty in stagnant creeks, breaking windows and scraping knees. Of course, it also meant that her family tried to get her to be more lady like too. So she often had to sit through additional lessons in music, French, and proper deportment as a punishment for various adventures. By the time Kim was 16 she was an interesting mix of refinement and an indomitable spirit, with a sense of fairness and a soft spot for an underdog, because she saw herself as one.
She was slender, blonde and knew how to present herself, but the energetic nature often left her with scrapes and bruises on knees and elbows, and freckles on her pert nose. She was pretty, but it was her unusually bright eyes and a ready smile that made her stand out in the crowd.
Despite her penchant for finding trouble, Kim was not ready for this turn of events.
She was traveling with her family in Great Britain. In Devon, to be precise. It was supposed to be a big family trip before they relocated to California. Kim looked forward to being on the West Coast: she was sure she'd be happier in the less structured place. The summer trip was awesome too, of course. She wasn't all that much into history, but it was interesting to see the place, where her dad's family hailed from so long ago. Dad waxed poetic about old English Kings. How bloody were the medieval times, the constant struggle for the throne, the power of the landed barons, the Crusades, the capture of Richard the Lionheart.
This rung a bell to Kim - she did watch the BBC period drama about Robin Hood.
"Oh? I thought Robin of Locksley was in Sherwood Forest..."
Her dad smiled indulgently, "Yes. It was near London. But here, in Devon, lived one of the great actors of that historical period. William Bruer was a Baron, held numerous lands, forests, position as a justice and played a role in a council that managed England while Richard the Lionheart was in the Promised Land. William joined the king even. He must have been a good warrior. And was an interesting character. Managed to keep his position through the reign of Richard and his brother, the petty and cruel King John. Was a close advisor to Richard. And a pious man. He built two abbeys and left his son with expanded lands. Not an easy feat in those times."
"So, was he like the sheriff of Sherwood Hall?"
"Much more influential, I'd wager. And, consider, this were still fairly decentralized times. What with monarchs absent on the Crusades. So local barons were true rulers over their lands. They had a lot of power and exercised it frequently. He was the lord, the justice, the taxing authority, and, when necessary, the defender. Great power."
Her dad sounded impressed and her mother patted his hand affectionately, "You're saying he was a powerful lord in medieval times, right? Does it mean he abused all that power?"
"Darling, those were the dark times. To achieve what he had, he must have been a tough leader, who made tough choices, and a great warrior."
Kim, who was listening to their conversation, added, "Those were difficult times. Noble people lived by the sword and died by the sword. Nowadays, we can't imagine the sort of hardships and brutality that was medieval Europe."
They walked slowly through the remnants of the old castle and the walls of the fort. The day started sunny, which only got hotter as hours went on. Her parents stopped by the gift shop and she left them there, walking over to the pond or a lake on the grounds of the castle and breathed in the fragrant air of nearby trees and flowers. It was beautiful.
Her peaceful moment was pierced by the loud voice and she turned to see that a boy of four or five was in the water, splashing his arms around and screaming for his mom. The poor woman was holding another child in her arms and yelled for help. Kim huffed and took off running, thinking that it was just like her luck to play an impromptu life guard. She ran and took a dive into the water, thanking her years of playing in creeks for the decent swimming skills. The boy was in her arms soon enough and she swam back awkwardly, holding him around his chest and towing the shivering boy back to the small pier. She passed him safely to other people, who were crowing the small structure and got ready to haul herself up.
But maybe she overestimated her own skills. The sudden cramp in one of the legs made her abandon the motion and it made her fall back into the water, sinking under. She tried to push up again, but the water was heavy and moved slowly. Her legs camped all over and she could barely move them. Fear started to crawl up her spine and she beat the water around her with her quickly tiring arms. The lake that seemed peaceful and warm just moments ago, got colder and colder and she slowly realized that she was sinking deeper and deeper.
The yellow circle of the sun appeared almost colorless through the thick layer of murky water and it as it grew dim, Kim thought that she probably wouldn't make out of this adventure.
When the last of the air in her lungs left in a bubble and the world fractured into streaks of darkness, something pushed her from below. Something large, like a wave in the ocean, and she broke the surface dragging huge gasping breaths.
Her worldview, still shaky and dim, slowly settled into a nonsensical picture. She was in the river, not a lake. It was definitely somewhere in the forest and the castle was nowhere to be seen.
She tried to swim back to the shore, but her limbs moved slowly weighed down by heavy clothes. She was sure she wasn't wearing a skirt and long sleeves when she went into the lake. Putting all these incongruities aside, she managed to get to the shore. She collapsed and tried to catch her breath after the near drowning. Lying on her back she took in the scenery. She was definitely in a wooded area and it looked wild, untamed, un-manicured. So, a forest then. Still made no sense, but maybe the currents drug her somewhere?
She sat up when she heard a sound of soft footfalls on the ground and she looked up.
And then blinked.
And looked on.
There was a group of people riding horses. And they were very peculiarly dressed. Like it was a renaissance fair happening and these people were into LARPing.* Only their clothes and horses' dressage all looked... authentic. The cloth was loosely woven, baggy, wrinkled; colors were dull and pale. Something not typical of clothes made nowadays.
They reached her position and the obvious leader of the group stopped and then spoke to her.
To her dismay she only was able to understand milady in the beginning and then the rest sounded vaguely Germanic and incomprehensible.*
He spoke again, but she stared unable to understand and when she was about to voice her confusion the man spoke with visible hesitation.
"Mademoiselle, vous êtes qui? Qu'est-ce que vous faites ici?" (Who are you? What are you doing here?)*
He spoke slowly and it was obvious he wasn't very fluent in French, but at least it was something she could understand. She responded in French, happy now with all the extra lessons she was forced to take.
"I was at the castle in Devon and I fell into a lake, but it now is - somehow - a river... I am not sure how that is possible. There was a boy who was drowning and I went to get him. And other people on the pier..." She trailed off not sure how to explain all the incongruities. "I need to get back to the castle."
The man's eyes widened and he quickly got off the horse and bowed to her smartly. "My apologies, milady. Broderick Carter at your service. I had been traveling and had not received any correspondence since I left my estate. I was not aware that Lord Marshall had visitors at this time."
Lord Marshall?
She repeated the name even as the man's words sunk in. "Who is Lord Marshall? I don't mean to impose, I merely need to get back to the castle in Devon. I am sure my family is worried about me."
"His Lordship is the Dean of York and his is the only castle nearby. You mentioned that you fell into a lake?" His words were polite, but questioning and his eyes sharpened. "Who were the boy and the people, who saw you falling?"
Kim was realizing quickly that the situation was not exactly as she expected. The little strange details were piling up and she suddenly was very concerned that she was unsafe. These people spoke very formal French and their clothes were very old-fashioned, their mode of transportation was outdated as well, and this strange Lord Marshall, who was the Dean of York and... She looked at her own clothes that was heavy and long, in the style of the medieval lady's dress, like the portraits she'd seen in the castle... She had a sinking feeling that she was not in Kansas anymore and cursed her own knack for adventures.
"Sir, would you mind telling me where exactly am I? And what year it is?"
The man looked at her with confusion, "We are in York, milady, and it is the year of 1189."
Kim gasped, her vision tunneling and the air becoming too heavy to breathe. She tried to fight to stay conscious, but it was too much for her tired mind and she welcomed the darkness that enveloped her.
She came to in a dark room. She sprung up, but moaned and laid back down when her head spun a little. She studied the low ceiling above er bed, taking in the details that she could see. The room must have been in one of those historical places: in addition to low ceiling, the windows were awfully small, barely letting any light in, there were candelabras on the low dresser and the candles were thick. The mattress was lumpy and she was sure that she did not own a long white nightgown that was on her at the moment. She remembered passing out in front of the French-speaking man - Broderick - and figured she was brought to some hotel or an inn. Unfortunately, the reason for her fainting spell was all to fresh in her mind. Somehow she came across people who took their Ren-fair play-acting way too seriously, even going so far as to speak French.
The cold and nagging feeling that she had been ignoring was telling her that it was real and no reenactment could get the details so right, but she willed herself to believe that it was all some big joke and she would be able to go back to home and parents.
When the throbbing in her head slowed, Kim rose slowly and took several steps. Her head hurt but she was otherwise unharmed and she decided to investigate her whereabouts. The window was closed and she couldn't figure out the way to open it. That left her with the door. It was not locked and she quietly pried it open. The hallway was fairly short and lead to a staircase landing. She was about to step out, when she realized that her nightgown was made of a very thin fabric and was see-through. She flushed and went back to her room to find anything to cover herself up. She only found the dress from earlier on, which wasn't hers and impossible to put on without help. She was in luck as there was a large shawl that she wrapped around herself and went back to investigate.
Creeping slowly to the landing she could hear people talking. She recognized the voice of Broderick from before, but that was all she could understand. He spoke the same incomprehensible language that sounded German and she could only catch a few words here and there. Still, she gathered that they discussed her, if the repeated use of words magden and madencild was anything to go by. She overheard something that sounded like earl-bird* and despaired as to what it could possibly mean.
Her hope to understand anything dwindled and she went past the landing to investigate the rest of the hallway. Surprisingly, there was another staircase, narrow and dirty, but it was empty and she went downstairs in hopes of finding the exit.
Only when she stepped through the door, she wished she hadn't.
The yard was full of activity. More people in Ren-fair garb were walking around, speaking that same awful gibberish; there were stables nearby and the whole place smelled of animals and burnt wood. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, tears slowly falling down her face.
She couldn't fool herself any longer...
She was roused from her pity-party when someone loudly yelled and there was a sudden hush over the yard. She opened her eyes and saw that everyone was staring at her. Men leered and women had judging looks on their faces. She pulled the shawl tightly around herself and lifted her chin high. She wasn't naked or indecent and she was not going to be judged.
Remembering that the local language was not something she spoke, she chose French.
"Where am I? I demand that I am taken to my family."
Her words had a strange effect. Men looked away and women lowered their eyes. Yet, still no one moved.
"Well? Take me to my family!"
Then there was a deep voice behind her, speaking in accented French.
"I am afraid it is not possible at the moment, milady."
She turned around and saw Broderick standing there. He quickly averted his eyes and took his cloak off to put it on her.
"Milady must not feel well after her accident. She must return to her bed," he said it loudly, his words carrying over the crowd. To her, he whispered, "Milady, I worry that your accident had more consequences to your health. You seem to have lost some of your understanding. It is not appropriate for a lady to show herself in her undergarments."
He was moving her slowly back into the inn and she didn't want to continue this farce any longer, "I want to go back to my parents, sir. Please, I need to to contact them."
"A messenger to Devon will take a while, milady. Traveling such distance in your condition would be ill-advised. I sent a message to Lord Marshall. A carriage for you is on its way."
"You keep mentioning this Lord Marshall, but I only need to contact the local authorities," she kept talking even as they slowly progressed indoors.
"But he is that, milady," Broderick was frustratingly polite. "His lordship is the sheriff of York and contacting him is the proper procedure. If your family is searching for you, they will contact him as well."
They were inside at this point and she stopped to take in the inside of the inn. It was dirty, with hay on the floor and a giant hearth visible behind a long counter. Roughly polished tables and benches were occupied by the group men she saw earlier in the woods. All of them stared at her agog and she blushed. A harsh shout from Broderick made them all drop their eyes and she was pushed gently in the direction of the staircase.
"Please, milady. Go to your room and I shall sent a repast to you."
Kim finally came to a complete acceptance that she was not in her time and that this strange world is going to be hers for a while.
"I am not going home anytime soon, am I?" she said it in normal English and mostly to herself and Broderick only looked askance.
Of course, he could not understand her.
No one could.
She was well and truly in the past.
* LARP - live action reenactment.
* In Anglo-Saxon England, the language was still fairly old Germanic and would be incomprehensible to a modern-day English speaker.
* Most of the nobles at the time spoke French in coirt, used Latin for correspondence, and old English to speak to each other and the lower classes.
* Magden and madencild means 'young woman's and eorlgebyr is Old English for 'of noble birth.'
A/N: I'll avoid most of the foreign language or words in the future. I wanted to show just how greatly Kim's circumstances changed when she slipped back in time.
Also, let me know if this is an interesting setup. I am not a huge history buff, but some of the facts are based in real history. Also, I promise, most of the story is romance and some humor.