She fell asleep thinking about how her hormones must have finally driven her mad. She’d imagined a dictator in barbarian’s clothes kidnapping her through the ice cream freezer at the grocery store. She must have finally gotten herself shipped off to the crazy farm. That didn’t explain why she was warm and toasty down her left side and frozen down her right side. Nor did it explain the rhythm of movement that had lulled her to sleep in the first place, despite the uncomfortable juxtaposition of hot and cold on her body. The cessation of that movement had brought her back to consciousness. She yawned and stretched, only to freeze in place when her hips and back were gripped firmly by very large hands.
A very deep voice rumbled from against her body. She squeezed her eyes shut. She recognized the barbarian’s voice even though the words were spoken in a language foreign to her. Was she still trapped in her imagination? Or could she actually, possibly, have been dragged through some weird portal in time and place? She shook her head, denying the possibility. She must be crazy. That was the only explanation.
Another male voice spoke from a few feet away, responding to her kidnapper’s query. The one holding her responded with a grunt and then began moving again. She slowly opened her eyes to see where she was, hoping that she was being carried by a large orderly on the psych ward. She flinched when her eyes encountered bright, white snow. It was so bright it was blinding. She buried her head against the man’s chest. He laughed at her, the rusty sound rumbling through her body.
“Wait another little while, woman. We have arrived in the village. Soon, you will be warm and properly dressed.”
“Will I get one of those cute little gown’s that hang open in back to bare my backside to the world?”
“You want your ass bare to the world?” He sounded puzzled.
“Well, not particularly,” she admitted. He stopped walking and she heard another person’s feet shuffling beside them. She thought she heard a heavy door creak open in front of them. When the man holding her moved again, she was suddenly enveloped in warmth. It was almost too warm. There was an aroma of cooking food combined with the stench of unwashed bodies. It turned her stomach.
“Hey, can you turn the thermostat down a notch or two. It’s boiling in here!” She complained.
“What is a thermostat?” The man asked.
“Oh. I guess the room doesn’t have a separate thermostat. OK, well, I hope that the little gown isn’t too heavy then. I don’t want to be roasting while I’m trapped in the loony bin.”
“Woman, you make no sense with your ramblings.” He spoke rapidly to someone else in that language she couldn’t understand. It had rolling r’s and sharp vowel sounds. Did the staff in the mental hospital have to learn a foreign language so that they could speak to each other without their patients understanding them? She heard more voices, speaking excitedly, and more shuffling feet around her.
She was abruptly set down and she stood awkwardly, holding the fur tight around her shoulders. She kept her eyes closed, denying the possibility that she was anywhere but in a hospital. From smell to touch, her senses told her she was nowhere near a cold, antiseptic, sterile environment. Her mind rebelled at the idea that she was, in fact, in a barbarian village far from the heat of Florida where she had started her day.
My Muse Speaks Softly 
Yep, once again, I’m captivated! We have been watching Lord of the Rings, and he reminds me of a big Gimli. (The dwarf). I definitely want to know what happens at that village, and why he has kidnapped her!
This is the first installment I’ve read, but I’m gonna go hunt up any others! 🙂