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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xxxii. Battle Plans
Sunlight shone from the windows, the gentle rays breaking into the dark room like a thief in the night. The fire roared in the hearth, its tendrils crackling, almost like an animal waiting for its release to pounce and stalk its prey.
Kari stared down at the board game, her eyebrows furrowed in thought as she looked at the wooden pieces atop it. For every move that was made, she tried to think five steps after it to see its results. A good exercise, if you will, when the wooden pieces became symbols for living soldiers.
Ivar and Heahmund continued to play the game silently with both cautiously taking looks at the woman, seeing her mumble moves for the game. If Ivar was being honest, he had been moving according to her advice which is why he was currently at an advantage.
After some time, Heahmund broke the silence. "We will be fighting your brothers. Yes?"
"That's right." Kari answered, taking a sip of ale from her cup, not once lifting her gaze from the board.
"Perhaps even our brother, Bjorn. If he returns from his travels." Ivar added, meeting the bishop's gaze, only to see him looking at the woman at their side.
"Do they frighten you, your brothers?" Heahmund asked, looking between the two of them.
Ivar spoke thoughtfully. "No. Maybe Bjorn just a little. I don't find him very smart but he is a great warrior. They call him Bjorn Ironside."
Heahmund questioned, having heard of the viking woman many times. "And the woman, the one who killed your mother?"
"Lagertha." Ivar responded, a grimace appearing on his face. "I've sworn to kill her."
At the mention of the woman's name, Kari's head snapped up, her attention far from the game. Lagertha was a woman defending her kingdom but Kari could never forget what the woman did to her. What she did to Harald.
They were prisoners at the time but that was no excuse for what she did. There were some things that Kari did not agree with in their world, one of which was that sort of crime. There would be no excuse for rape, may it be affecting a man or a woman.
Now that she was queen, she was planning to make changes. Vikings raid and conquer but she would never allow such a thing to happen under her rule. She was sure that Harald would agree with her.
It had bothered him, to be sure. She could still remember the first few nights after their escape from imprisonment, how he flinched at her touch no matter how much he tried to hide it. She would never wish that sort of feeling on anyone and she hated that Lagertha did that to him.
"I have some affairs to discuss with her before her timely death." Kari carried on, thinking of the ways that she could get back at the woman.
"You will not stop me?" Ivar put forward, curious as to why she was agreeing with him, even helping him, for the first time in her life.
