He was the conqueror. She was the sacrifice.
He was powerful. She was unexpected.
He was certain. She was uncertainty.
He formed a nation. She formed his world.
Together they would make history.
▪︎°▪︎°▪︎°▪︎
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xv. Farewell Familiar Roads
"What did I miss?"
Harald found his attention pulled away from his self-wallowing thoughts. No matter how hard he tried, he could not forget the image that had been engraved into his mind. To make matters worse, whenever he would remember what he saw, his blood began to boil in anger and he found himself wanting to kill something.
His Kari with Bjorn Ironside. They had been embracing, like two people who had finally addressed what was between them. He may not have heard what words were exchanged between them but he knew what kind of man Bjorn was.
How could he resist the charms and the intelligence of a woman like Kari? It was practically impossible to? Even when she had entered their camp for the first time, interested eyes had already tracked her movements, attracted to her mere aura.
It made him want to pummel everyone who ever laid eyes on her. Even Halfdan had noticed the bloodthirsty look in his eyes that his brother immediately handed him a cup of ale and took away his weapons.
Now, as his eyes went to the person who had spoken, he could not help but feel his heart break just a little from her beauty. He found himself asking again how anyone could resist her when she frowned at him.
"Hey, you alright? You had this weird look in your eyes." Kari stated, looking concerned for his wellbeing.
Harald looked around to see that there were no empty seats beside him. On his left was Halfdan and on his right was one of the earls who had come with them. He turned back to her, raising a finger. "Wait a moment."
She seemed to realize what he was doing that she shook her head. "It's okay. I'll find my own seat, it cannot be too-"
"You. Move." He commanded, standing up and glaring intensely at the large Viking.
The large Viking turned and scoffed, not entertaining whatever Harald was saying. "Get lost."
Kari was just about to step in once more to tell Harald that it was fine but that was when the temperamental man chose to draw back his fist, landing a punch onto the other man's face, rendering him unconscious immediately.
"Harald!" She exclaimed, aghast at what he had just done for a mere seat. When men started to look over at them, she forced a smile on her face and waved away their curiosity. "He must've had too much to drink."
Everyone looked away, preoccupied with their own celebrations that they could not even be bothered if a fight broke out between two people.
However, there were a selected few who found themselves looking to the golden-haired girl who had caused King Harald to lose all sense.
"Come sit." Harald shrugged, not caring for any of the whispers, tugging her gently and offering her the seat that had previously been taken.
She gazed at him, taking away his cup thinking that to be the root of his rage. "Are you alright? You're more short-tempered than usual."
