Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Dudlebí
After breakfast, Samo packed up the camp quickly and methodically, putting out the fire and throwing the thick pelt blankets over his horse. Katheryn watched him closely, trying to gauge his intentions. He'd told her they were heading to a village, saying it would take half a day to get there.
She'd nearly laughed out loud—there were plenty of mountain towns surrounding the Šumava National Park. His talk of a "half-day journey" made no sense, and she couldn't shake the feeling he was lying to her.
Her mind spun with worry as she thought, *I'm completely defenseless.* Her eyes swept the ground, already thinking about finding a weapon, just in case.
Unaware of her inner turmoil, Samo finished packing and turned to her, eyebrow raised. "Are you pretending to be invisible, or are you going to get your things?" he asked with a small, teasing smile.
Katheryn's cheeks warmed. *Cheeky,* she thought, silently vowing to get back at him for the comment. She stood, throwing her backpack over her shoulder and pulling on her hiking boots, which now carried the smokey scent of the fire. At least they were dry.
Samo motioned toward the horse and said, "Get on."
She stared at him, skeptical. "I've never been on a horse before. And you don't even have stirrups!"
He looked at her, puzzled. "What are… stirrups?"
She let out a frustrated sigh. "Never mind," she muttered. He mounted the horse with ease and extended a hand to her, giving her little time to refuse. With a resigned sigh, she removed her backpack and grasped his hand. In one swift movement, Samo lifted her up onto the horse, pulling her close to him.
"What are you doing?" she snapped, squirming against his grip.
"Unless you want to fall and crack your skull, hold still," he said calmly, tightening his arm around her waist. She stopped struggling, her face growing hot as she leaned into his chest. She could feel his muscular frame against her back, surprisingly strong for someone with such a lean build.
As they set off along the muddy forest path, Katheryn grew quiet, watching her surroundings with a growing sense of unease. The landscape seemed wilder than she remembered, and as they continued, she began to realize that the forest stretched far longer than it should have. She sighed, finally breaking the silence.
"How much longer until we get to this village?"
He glanced up at the sun. "When the sun reaches its highest point in the sky."
She rolled her eyes. "You mean the afternoon? Why don't you just say that?"
Samo frowned slightly, seeming genuinely perplexed. "What… is an afternoon?"
Katheryn let out an exasperated laugh, shaking her head. "What, did you never go to school?"
"School?" He stared blankly at her, his face serious and unmoved by her comment.
"Wait—you're serious? You don't know what school is?" Her voice betrayed her disbelief.
He shrugged his shoulders, unbothered by her reaction. "What is this school you talk about "
Katheryn took a deep breath, trying to formulate an explanation for something so basic she'd never thought she'd need to explain it. "A school is… it's where people go to learn things. Like reading, writing, math, history—just about everything you need to know to understand the world."
Samo seemed to consider her words carefully. "Only priests learn to read and write," he replied, nodding slowly. "People don't need all that. We learn by doing what our fathers and mothers did before us."
Katheryn blinked, her thoughts racing. No concept of school? She'd assumed he was just eccentric, maybe a little isolated, but this level of disconnection unsettled her. Her mind flitted back to her earlier suspicions of him being part of some isolated cult.
After many hours they finally broke free from the dense forest, and she inhaled deeply, relieved to feel open space around her. The air was crisp and filled with the sweet scent of wildflowers, a welcome change from the stifling atmosphere under the trees. But her relief was short-lived. She looked around, expecting to see signs of civilization—roads, power lines, maybe even distant rooftops. Instead, there was nothing but endless plains stretching into the horizon, not a single trace of modern life.
A sinking feeling spread in her chest. *Stay rational,* she told herself, gripping the edge of the horse's blanket as she turned to Samo. "Where exactly are we?"
"We're in the land of the Dudlebí," he replied matter-of-factly, urging the horse forward.
Katheryn's brow furrowed, her stomach twisting as she repeated softly to herself, "Dudlebí…" Suddenly, a memory flickered to life—her history classes back at Charles University. The Dudlebí were an ancient tribe, once occupying parts of Bohemia in the 7th century. She took a deep, steadying breath. "What year is it?"
Samo paused as if recalling something distant. "It is the year 614."
The words hung in the air, and Katheryn's heart thundered in her chest. Her mind scrambled for answers, racing through a flood of questions. *A cult freak? A coma? Some elaborate prank? Or… could I have actually travelled back in time?*
Samo seemed to notice her tense body, his grip steadying her. "What is wrong with you?" he asked, his tone laced with genuine concern.
Katheryn forced herself to breathe. "Nothing," she muttered, shaking her head. "Let's just keep going."
For the next few hours, they rode in silence. Katheryn was deep in thought, trying to cling to some shred of logic. Her best guess was that she'd somehow slipped into a coma after falling in the lake. This had to be a dream, an illusion conjured by her mind. *Just go along with it,* she thought, resigning herself to the bizarre situation.
Eventually, they reached a dirt road, winding its way over the plains. Samo pointed ahead. "We're nearly at the village of the Dudlebí."
Katheryn squinted, following his gesture, and saw thin lines of smoke rising from a cluster of small, wooden structures in the distance, all enclosed within a rough wooden fence. Her stomach growled, and she hoped that whatever lay ahead would include something edible.
As they drew closer, she could make out more details of the village: small, weather-worn huts huddled together, with narrow paths winding between them. She braced herself, unsure of what to expect.
Samo guided the horse down the path toward the village, and Katheryn took in the sight of people bustling about, dressed in rough-spun tunics and cloaks, their hands busy with daily chores. Children scampered around the huts, chasing each other and laughing, while older villagers tended to animals or carried bundles of herbs.
Katheryn swallowed hard, the surreal reality pressing down on her. *This isn't some elaborate trick,* she thought. *But if this is real, how do I get back?*
Samo slowed the horse as they reached the edge of the village, and he looked at her with a calm but unreadable expression. "Welcome to Dudlebí."
The villagers stared at her curiously, eyes lingering on her clothes and the backpack slung over her shoulder. Katheryn shifted uncomfortably, gripping the horse's reins tightly as she glanced around. Everything seemed frozen in time—raw, untouched by modern life.
She turned to Samo, the only familiar face in this strange world, and nodded. "Thank you," she said softly, though she still felt uncertain, caught between fear and curiosity.
With a wry smile, Samo dismounted the horse, extending a hand to help her down. As her feet touched the ground, she felt the eyes of the villagers on her, and she couldn't shake the feeling that her real journey had only just begun.
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CaramelCheeks Hi, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, let me know what you think in the comments!
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