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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xxxv. Chokehold
Crows cawed in the distance, a very ironic thing, seeing as crows symbolize tragedy.
It was a funny thing how the gods knew the things that would happen before they would take place. Their job being that they weave through the threads of destiny. Looking back, perhaps the crows were signs of the incoming onslaught of chaos. Their distant sounds representing messages from the gods. Messages that they were too distracted to hear.
Harald remained stoic, sulking silently by himself. Kari had tried speaking to him but it was evident that he did not wish to speak to anyone. Not even her. It was a wound on his pride, that was no doubt.
Still, she could not help but feel a sense of hurt that he refused to confide in her. It was not as if he was completely clueless as to how Ivar was feeling. Halfdan was on the opposite side as well. Should he not feel relieved that he would not have to fight his brother?
However, even if this was so, she could not help but pity Ivar as well. He looked unhappy on his own regardless of the fact that it was his decision to put a stop to all the fighting. She had seen him act cruel and even act arrogant but it was only now that she could see beyond all of that. Only now did she see through the broken man he tried to hide.
Ignoring everything in her, Kari approached Ivar, turning to face him as she sat on the seat beside him.
Ivar sighed, looking away. "If you're here to lecture me, I do not care. I have made my decision. You and your husband can just-"
Kari blurted out. "Have you ever wondered what father would be thinking of us now?"
He tilted his head in question before shaking his head fondly at the memories he had of the man. "Father? Seeing us, he would probably laugh in our faces then smack us all in the head."
She laughed softly, leaning back against her seat. "Would he? I wish I could have met him. What I would give to have him smack me in the head. Or at least hear his voice."
"You know what was the last thing he said to me?" He asked, remembering how it had felt hearing such words from the father who had been gone for so long.
"What?" She looked at him expectantly, wondering what the last thing the great Ragnar told his son before everything.
"He told me that people would always underestimate me and that I must make them pay for it. Be ruthless, he said." He answered, recalling the words embedded deep in his heart fondly. Ragnar may have been gone from this world but his words and his actions live on in them.
"And you have done just that. He would be proud." She assured him, her heart twinging that she would never get the chance to hear those things from her father, to ever hear his voice.
"If he had known you, he would have loved you. He loved all of his children, even when he left." His lips morphed into a soft smile, for the first time, cruelty was not laced in his eyes. He was speaking truthfully and maybe if he had known he had a sister sooner, there wouldn't be such bitter blood between them.
