Utterly Barbaric || Harald Finehair

viii

viii. Foolish Ideals

"Are you being serious right now?" Harald growled angrily. "How is this my fault?"

Kari and Halfdan rolled their eyes simultaneously in response.

"Brother, we only mean th-"

"You killed the man, idiot. Of course, his men would leave. What? Did you think that they would just accept the death of their earl and walk hand-in-hand with you into the sunset?" Kari said, not bothering to cushion her words like Halfdan would have.

"What about Ellisif?" Harald asked, his eyes slowly showing a bit of remorse. Not at the thought of the dead man's blood on his hands, but at the thought that Kari was angry with him. 

Halfdan sighed. "She chose to stay. From what I know, she has not done any move to show that she would be leaving." 

Kari saw Harald's eyes fill with hope. "Oh, get that look out of your eyes."

"What look?" He asked, confused.

She shook her head at him. "You killed her husband, Harald. Do you really think that she would come back to you now?"

"What's so impossible about it, Trouble? Her husband was a weak boy with barely a hint of strength in his forearm." He scoffed, taking a swig of ale.

She wrinkled her nose at him, not wanting to register the envy developing in her chest. "Weak boy or not. She loved him and you killed him. Don't be a fool."

He let out a cruel laugh. "A fool? How am I a fool? I was not the little girl who went with the first man who saw her and tried to play at being viking."

At that, silence ensued. Not even Halfdan dared utter a word.

Harald immediately regretted what he said the moment that those words slipped from his lips. But it was too late. He had already said them.

Kari stood up, the force of her movement knocking the chair she was sitting in back, whilst glaring at him angrily. "Yes, I was a fool. I was foolish in thinking that you had a chance at being the noble and brave man you claimed you were. You're just an idiot. An idiot trying to be king."

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Kari let out an annoyed breath, walking away from the two. 

She should have known better than to think that he could see reason. 

Then again, why was she trying so hard to convince him? He could go rot for all she cared.

She huffed angrily, crossing her arms.

Great, now she did not even know where she was going. Still, not wanting to admit defeat, she continued on her way, not caring whatsoever and heading to a small clearing.

She had hoped to be alone but it seems as if that was not to be. 

Perhaps this lack of caring was what led her to bump into a familiar face. 

"What is your rush, Kari?" Bjorn Ironside greeted, easily sidestepping after she more or less barreled into him. 

"Forgive me, Bjorn. I just had to get away." Kari sheepishly apologized.

"Get away? From what?" He gave her a knowing look. "From who? You look about ready to murder someone."

"I think you already know the answer to that question." She answered, sighing. She settled herself on a flat rock, crossing her legs. 

He let out a laugh, sitting down beside her. "Ah, the infuriating King Harald, I presume."

"You presume correctly." She grinned, turning to him with a familiar look in her eyes.

Bjorn could not explain it but he felt connected to the girl beside him, the same way he had felt for his sister, Gyda. Even her eyes, they looked too familiar. 

"If I may ask," He began. "How did you come to be a part of King Harald's company?"

She let out a chuckle at that. "It's quite an odd story. I would only tell you if you have the time, of course."

"I have the time." Bjorn grinned, smiling down at the girl who seemed so familiar, almost like family.

Little does he know, she was family. 

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"Seems like, after all, I know women a lot better than you, brother."

Harald sputtered out the blood that had hit him when Halfdan had struck down Ellisif. 

Ellisif, who had come to him, claiming to be contrite and apologetic. She had wanted to kill him. She tried to kill him and she almost succeeded in doing so. 

"I-" Harald started, wiping his face of the blood whilst looking down at the corpse of the girl he had once wanted to marry. 

Halfdan only shook his head at his brother, using his blanket to wipe his blade clean. "I believe you owe someone an apology."

Harald grunted in reply, finally getting his face clean. "Halfdan, I'm not apologizing to you right at th-"

"Not me, you dolt!" Halfdan sighed, smacking his brother in the back of his head. "You need to apologize to Kari after the way you spoke to her."

Halfdan was right, of course, but Harald was not quite ready to say anything about that. He could not think about Kari, especially when the dead body of the first girl he loved was right beside him. 

Harald finally stood up, tugging on a woolen tunic. "Later. For now, help me clean this up."

His brother only shook his head at him. "And why should I do that?"

"Why!? You were the one who killed her!" Harald protested, glaring daggers at his calm brother. "Or had you forgotten that fact?"

He was looking at him with mild distaste on his face as if being there was such an inconvenience to his day. 

"Oh, how could I forget? When I've been wanting to kill that bitch for quite some time now?" Halfdan said.

"And I told you I loved her. That I loved you both." Harald answered. "That out of everyone, you are the only two that I love in this world."

Halfdan sheathed his blade, about to exit the tent.

"Open your eyes, brother. She never felt the same. I did you a favor. Now it's time to move on."

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Oop, they fought. And they are both in denial about their feelings ooooo, so dramatic! Soo, I wanted to build the brother-sister relationship between Kari and Bjorn, but also show a bit of the dynamic between Harald and Halfdan. Stay tuned until the next chapter, where there's sure to be more dramaaa. Sending you all my love!