She Came From the Ocean |1|

Gifts

Bjorn shoved the great wooden doors open, and the sound of shrill screams followed. Rán frowned wondering what exactly the man had been trying to keep safe, but it all became impeccable clear once she made her way into the room. She walked past Bjorn, and froze before the horrible sight before her. Rán was standing before a large harem of women. They cowered in fear as they looked at her with the same amount of fear and disgust as, the men that stood close behind her basically drooling.

The men giggled as if they were young children as if they had just burst through the doors of Valhalla. Rán stood unable to move as the men overcame their pause before shoving past her and quickly entering to revel in what the women had to offer. She stumbled slightly as one of the men brushed pasted her and quickly grabbed a woman. "Take your hands off her!" She yelled as she grabbed him and positioned herself in front of her.

"My apologies, I didn't know you liked woman. The woman is all yours, there are plenty to go around." He grinned as he licked his lips and simply moved on to the next cowering woman.

Rán scoffed as she watched him easily move on. Her disgust for men seemed to span centuries. Rán looked back at the woman she had protected to see the same look of disgust as she pressed herself against the wall to be as far away from her as possible. "Im sorry." Rán muttered before pulling out a small blade and offering her the hilt. "Protect yourself." She sighed as she motioned for her to take it. The woman took a bit of coaxing, but quickly grabbed it then returned to huddling in the corner. Rán shuffled away from her and looked around the room, only to avery her gaze away, unable to take the judgmental gaze of the women around her. She couldn't even stomach the sight of the men "using" them. "I think I am going to be sick." Rán managed to rasp out as she slapped a hand over her mouth and left the harem as quickly as she could. As she was leaving she shoved right past a dumb struck Hvitserk who eyed the women hungrily. "Dog." She snarled in his direction.

Hvitserk jumped as he didn't even notice that she approached him. "Rán wait!" He yelled after her, but she obviously ignored him. "Shit." He groaned as he turned back to the women in the room lacing his fingers together on his head in frustration.

Rán rushed all the way back to the market taking in deep gulps of air as she leaned against a wooden post. This was her life. She just needed to adjust to the fact that it indeed wasn't her time. Things were done differently here. The universe ruled by different laws. She swallowed the bile rising in her throat, and decided to wander the market stalls to take her mind off her harsh reality and the haunting looks the woman had given her. She eyed beautiful pieces of jewelry, silks and fabrics so smooth to the touch, Rán felt that she wasn't worthy enough to touch them to begin with. Once she had reached the food, she had forgotten all about the harem, happily wallowing in her ignorance, as she took a bite out of a plum. She let out a hum of content at the sweet fruit before moving along and dipping her finger in a bowl of bright orange power. She quickly regretted her actions. Rán hated the taste of turmeric, so she quickly took a bite of the plum.

"That was quite a face you made." Hvitserk taunted.

She scoffed tossing away her unfinished plum. "And you were spying on me for how long?" She questioned venomously as she looked over his shoulder noticing all the men taking anything valuable, and even a few woman from the harem she just left.

"You weren't going to finish that?" He motioned to the fruit sitting in the dirt thinking she was being coy.

Rán huffed, as any thoughts of affection for the man had completely vanished as she turned her back on him and grabbed a date. "What do you want? Have you grown bored of those harem women? Did they not fight back as much as you wished?" She snapped not even giving him a glance as she took a bite of the fruit rather viciously.