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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x. Cut the Losses
As far as celebrations go, viking celebrations were not so bad.
There were good food and music, boisterous laughter, and lively dancing. The priest in her village had said that the vikings sacrificed virgins and innocent children for their entertainment. Of course, he was wrong.
Harald had assured her that people volunteer to be sacrificed for it is a great honor. He also informed her that they only do such things when they wished for victory or were embarking on something great.
It was their way of pleasing their gods he had explained. Not that she had anything against it. Their gods had been her gods before she knew of their traditions. Learning of them did not change her mind in any way.
After she and Harald had returned to camp, they had gone their separate ways. At least, she tried to part from him. However, he was not a man who was easily swayed.
She had been helping the other women of the camp with their duties and Harald, who was supposed to organize his men for the upcoming battle, had followed her around like a lost puppy instead.
She understood that perhaps he was being territorial after seeing her with Bjorn. She had discovered that vikings were very possessive and though she found it quite adorable on the gruff Harald, she couldn't wait to see the look on his face once he found out that Bjorn was her brother.
Speaking of her brother, Kari turned to face him as she heard his loud voice call out to her. "Bjorn!"
"Kari, are you enjoying the festivities?" Bjorn asked, raising his cup towards hers, causing the ale inside to slosh.
She nodded, a small smile gracing her lips. "I am. The ale is quite delicious and the meat is very good."
It was not mere politeness that had caused her to reply in such a way. Only pure honesty. The freedom and raw joys in their celebrations were something that she could get used to. Instead of fake smiles and the poor giving all they had to a man that would spend them, the vikings were basking in the joys of the feeling before battle.
It was an honor to them to die for their people, a great reward to have a place by the gods in Valhalla. It was a fresh take from the cowards who ran from battlefields and offered up young women as bait.
He chuckled in response, clasping a man by the shoulder. "This is my brother, Ubbe. Ubbe, this young woman is Kari. She is the woman that we have rescued from the Christians."
Ubbe shook his head in laughter, confused by the statement but accepting of it nonetheless. "Rescued from the Christians? That's new."
"Afraid so." Kari shrugged, before granting her half-brother a smile. "It is good to meet you, Ubbe."
"Have I met you somewhere before? You seem very familiar to me." Ubbe mused, his ale-addled mind not doing anything to dull the sense of familiarity he felt towards the girl.
