I'm Surrounded by Fictional Characters

The first thing I was aware of was the fact that I was sore. My entire body seemed to ache and my head was pounding worse than any headache I had ever had before. Maybe this was a migraine. I'd never had one before so I didn't know how it felt, but maybe this was one. And wherever I was, it was soft and warm and the smell of herbs and spices filled the air. But where was I? My nose twitched and I lifted a hand to scratch it, only to let out a groan. Ouch. That hurt.

My eyes popped open as I gasped. The flat tire. The stranger chasing after me. Falling down the side of a mountain. No wonder I ached. But it seemed someone had found me, but who? Cause wherever I was, it sure didn't look like a hospital.

It looked almost like a log cabin and in the center of the room was a fire pit. Over the fire pit a pot of something was bubbling. Shelves full of jars and pots lined the walls around the room and a narrow staircase led upstairs on the wall opposite the bed I was in. At least, I thought it was a bed. I wasn't quite sure what I was laying on. There was a table a few feet from the bed upon which sat a bowl, a couple leather bound books, several pots, and a loose little branches of planets.

I pushed myself up, wincing and sat on the bed looking around. The bed was up against the wall and the blanket that had been on me was thick and looked like wool. And someone had changed my clothes. Gone were my shoes, pants, and shirt, and instead I found myself in an off-white, loosing fitting long sleeve dress made of something soft. I reached up to rub my temples and found a piece of cloth wrapped around my head.

"What the?"

"Ah, you're awake."

I looked towards the staircase to see an older woman coming down them. She was maybe around the same age as my mom, with dark brown hair beginning to go gray gathered up upon her head. And she was wearing something I'd expect to see out of the theater department at school. Or maybe in some movie set in medieval times, or the Medieval Times dinner theater down around Disneyland.

"That was a nasty gash on your head," she said as she reached the foot of the stairs and walked over to the table. Gash. Well, that would explain the headache. Falling down the side of a mountain, bound to have hit a rock.

"Who are you? And where am I?" I asked. Well, that could have been put better. Brilliant, Kendra.

"I am Halla, and I am the healer of the village of Berk," she replied. I frowned slightly. Berk. I knew that name from somewhere. "It was lucky that Hiccup found you when he did. A few more hours out there and you might have been lost to me."

Berk. Hiccup. My eyes widened. Berk was the village in the movie How to Train Your Dragon and the book that the film was based on. Hiccup was the main character of the books and movie. There was no way. "Hiccup?"

Halla nodded and smiled at me briefly before resuming her work of mashing the contents of the bowel on the table before her. "Yes. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, son of our chief, Stoick the Vast."

They…There…Impossible. The world swam around me for a few moments before I passed out.

I was in How to Train Your Dragon. I was in a fictional universe. How? No idea. Why? No idea. I mean yeah, I'd seen the movie and thought it was adorable, but why was I suddenly in it? Dream, possibly? I shifted slightly on the bed as I stared up at the wooden ceiling above me, grimacing slightly at the soreness of my body. Nope. I was too damn sore for this to be a dream. But why was I here? Why me?

When I said 'I wished I was in How to Train Your Dragon,' I meant working for DreamWorks, even though I can barely draw a stick figure. But still, it would be cool to work on a movie like that if I could draw. It's like how I wish I could work for Pixar, when even my stick figures don't look like they should. They look, well, rather pathetic. But still it would be cool to work for them, just like it would have been cool to work on How to Train Your Dragon. But this? Laying here injured in the healers house in Berk, this was so not what I had meant.

Several loud knocks came from the front door. I pushed myself up and stared at the door. I heard movement upstairs and within a few moments Halla was hurrying down the stairs. She finished throwing her hair up into a bun just before she opened the door. My jaw dropped open. The man standing there was huge! Dark hair was hidden under a helmet with huge horns attached to it and he sported a bit of stubble. "Spitelout? What is the meaning of this?"

His eyes flickered past Halla and over to where I sat. "Stoick wishes to meet her."

The woman put her right hand on her hip. "And he will, after the girl has had some breakfast. When was the last time you ate, dear?" she asked, glancing over at me.

I frowned. When was the last time that I ate? "I don't know."

"See? So let me get some food into her before I take her to the chief." And with that Halla closed the door. She then went over to a shelf and grabbed a couple bowls and went over to the pot over the fire, muttering under her breath about how the chief should know better than to bother her this early. She ladled the contents of the pot into the two bowls before grabbing a wooden spoon and handing it to me along with one of the bowls. It smelled delicious and made my mouth water, whatever it was. Glancing down at it, it looked to be some sort of thick stew.

"Eat up," she said before digging into her own bowl. It was rather bland, but it was food and my stomach was thankful for it either way. Then again, with my taste buds, anything that wasn't super spicy was bland to me.

"Thank you," I said between bits.

She smiled at me. "You're very welcome. And what is your name?"

"Kendra Burr," I replied.

She frowned slightly, pausing her eating. "Highly unusual name."

For this place? I'll bet is was unusual. Then again, it wasn't like my name was that common back home either. The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. Halla finished before me , left her bowl on the table and then went upstairs. I had just finished my bowl when she came back down with a bundle of clothes in her arms. "These are some of my old things, but I they should fit you."

"What happened to my clothes?" I asked as she plopped the clothes down on the end of the bed.

She pulled a dark green shirt from the pile. "They were in as good as shape as you were. Yes, I think these will fit you just fine."

She tossed the dark green shirt, some dark brown leggings, and a tan leather skirt onto my lap. "Change into those and I'll go see about some boots."

She then went back upstairs and left me staring at the clothes. Well, they said when in Rome, do as the Roman's do. Since I was in Berk, might as well dress like them. Not that I had a choice since my clothes were apparently beyond use now. And I had just bought those jeans last week. Poo.

I sighed, pushed the blanket off my legs and stood. Still sore, but doing better. And now my feet were cold since it seemed she took my socks too. I pulled off the dress to see that she had changed my undergarments as well. She had probably seen my bra and wondered what in the heck it was. By the time she came back down the stairs with pair of boots in hand, I had just finished pulling on the skirt over the leggings.

"Hmm. Those fit you well," she said as she handed me the boots, looking me up and down. I took them and sat down on the bed to put them on. The entire ensemble was surprisingly very comfortable.

"Thank you," I told her as I finished putting on the boots.

She smiled, then gestured for me to sit. "I want to check your head."

I sat down and she unwrapped the bandage from around my head. She held the wrap in her hand as her hazel eyes scrutinized the wound on my head. I glanced at the bandage and saw a small bloodstain. She pursued her lips. "It's looking good, but I want to keep it on a few more days," she said as she began rewrap my head. "Now, come. Mustn't make the chief wait any longer."

I followed Halla out the front door and felt my jaw drop. The sky was overcast and the air smelled of rain and the ocean. Seeing Berk like this was simply incredible. I closed my mouth after a moment and followed Halla through the village. People were milling about the village, glancing at me and then talking quietly with someone close by. I grinned sheepishly.

Within minutes we were climbing up the large stone staircase that lead to the Mead Hall. The doors were huge and from here the view was amazing. You could see the entire village and the ramps that led down to the docks. It was… incredible. There were some people milling outside the hall, including a familiar group of kids. The huge, but like a giant teddy bear, Fishlegs. And there was Snotlout, trying to flirt with Astrid, who looked like she was about to clock him. And then twins were arguing over…something. And then there was Hiccup, standing somewhat away from the other teens. They all stopped talking when Halla and I reached the top of the stairs and stared at me.

I didn't realize I had stopped and was staring back at them until Halla said, "Come, Kendra."

I glanced toward her to see she had already opened the door. I sent a small smile towards the teens before I followed Halla into the Hall. A fire was roaring in the pit and the torches were lit. I knew the Hall was big from what was shown of it in the movie, but I wasn't prepared for just how big it was. But my attention was quickly drawn away from the room and to the adults that filled it, who parted like the red sea when I entered.

Standing on the other side of the fire pit thing in the room was Stoick the Vast, Gobber at his side and the man that had come for me early on his other. Just as the teens did outside, they all stared at me and the room went silent. Okay. Awkward. "Um, hi."