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.
▪︎°▪︎°▪︎°▪︎
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
xxviii. A Call of Commotion
Harald awoke with a smile on his face.
It seems these days, all he could conjure up was a smile. No matter that he looked like he had gone slightly mad.
Ever since his wedding to Kari, life had been bliss. They had feasted for many days and the nights had been just as memorable. He could still recall her various reactions as he kissed her in certain spots. Those would certainly be imprinted in his mind forever.
Even now, merely remembering the night before was another reason for the smile that appeared on his face. He now had someone to look forward to and if that was not a gift itself, then he didn't know what was.
After all, is it not the greatest gift that a man, a viking, and a warrior could have? A reason to wake up in the morning and a reason to keep fighting.
Harald reached out to the other side of the bed, wishing to pull his wife into his arms to greet her good morning. Only his hands came up empty.
He pushed the furs off his body to realize that he was all alone in bed. He glanced around the room to see that it was empty, with no sign of Kari anywhere in sight.
Peering outside, he saw that the day was already in full swing. Everyone was bustling about doing work and the sun was already high in the sky. Perhaps he had slept too much.
Wondering where his wife could be, he pulled on his clothes as he thought of the places she could possibly be in. The docks seemed an obvious choice, she always spent time there. Although she could be at the market, purchasing new items from the traded goods.
Suddenly, the memory struck him. Just last night, Kari had told him that she was to venture high in the mountains, where the trees grew higher than the clouds, to train with blades. She had been adamant about learning how to fight, wanting to be immersed in battle fully prepared.
Even though he had told her that there were no battles to be won as of late, she had pushed for it and whatever she says, always goes.
With that in mind, Harald rose from the bed fully clothed with the sole intent to find his wife. His wife, gods, he loved saying that.
Walking there, he greeted everyone he passed and addressed some concerns from his people. By the time he reached the shaded area, it was silent. Too silent.
"Kari!" Harald called out yet his only response was a few plants rustling in the wind. "Trouble, where are you?"
He continued to traverse through the area, not seeing anything particularly odd. Surely, she was not in any danger. Perhaps she had already left and gone off somewhere different.
Turning to leave back the way he came, he heard footsteps behind him. However, before he could turn back around, he felt a sharp blade against his back.
