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.
xix. In Chains
When Kari had first found out who her father was, she had been so numb with pain from her mother's passing that she could hardly register the fact that her father was a famous Viking.
She had to bury her mother and speak a few words, knowing that their vicar would not give her the blessings she would need to pass on to the afterlife. After that, she had to learn how to live on her own, to protect herself, to feed herself. It had all been too much for a little girl.
That was how she felt. Alone and helpless. Orphaned at such a young age. The most painful fact of them all was that both parents chose to leave her. Her father had left her mother and her mother chose to take her own life rather than live for her daughter.
After she had settled into life alone, she had begun to think of the life she would have if she tried to meet her father. He was the most famous Viking of all time. Surely, that was bound to mean something good across the sea.
In England, she would be tortured and executed should anyone find out about her parentage. Yet she had dreams that perhaps, somewhere out there, she would be welcomed with open arms.
She thought about her faceless father finding out about his daughter, delighted by the fact that she existed. She thought about his people welcoming her to their villages with bright smiles and cheers.
Or at least, she expected them to look at her and see someone brave and strong. Not an outcast but one of their own.
What Kari didn't expect to happen was her life being threatened and for the truth to be revealed in order to save her life.
She also did not know what was going to happen next but she didn't expect that she would be pushed to the ground and restrained like an animal. A far cry from what she expected people to do once they found out that she was Ragnar Lothbrok's long-lost daughter.
Upon hearing Harald's words, Queen Lagertha's eyes widened with shock. Gasps were heard all over the room as all eyes turned from him to the golden-haired girl they had not noticed before. They all looked at her and tried to compare her to the man they had once known or maybe heard of.
There were many who surged forward to get a closer look at her, beginning to see the resemblance between the young girl and the man they had all once looked up to as their leader.
Before anyone could voice out a word, Queen Lagertha called out a command to her soldiers. Immediately, Harald was taken away forcibly, restrained by four soldiers.
'I'll find you.' He had mouthed to Kari, his gaze sure as he was dragged away to who knows where.
She could only hope to share his enthusiasm. Up to this point, she is sure that she would never see the light of day again. He may be saying those things but he was a prisoner himself.
