You Are My Romeo

Chapter 2: Oleander

I narrowed my eyes at Dagur before I snatched the bowl from his hands, leaving him looking rather dumbfounded as I searched for any sign of the poisonous flower in my father's stew. There was none.

It was as if the room had been set on fire. Immense heat washed over me as I could practically feel my blood boil in my veins. How in the name of all that was holy could he have possibly known that there was poison in the stew when there were no visible signs?

My whole body vibrated as I balled my hands into fists and clenched my jaw. If looks could kill, Dagur would've crumbled to dust under my glare, but unfortunately, he did not. A sound which I could only compare to that of wolf growling right before it launched at its prey escaped me as I had to restrain myself from ripping Dagur's throat out. "You did this, you poisoned my father!"

A look of amusement and an arched brow was not what I had expected from Dagur as I was about to combust from sheer rage. "You're smarter than they give you credit for, you know that right? But you're right, I did poison that old bag, how else would I get him out of the picture?"

How could he so blatantly admit to poisoning my father? How could he sit there with a smug smile on his face and look down upon me like I was some toddler having a temper tantrum? Rage filled every crevice of my being and I knew that hadn't it been for the fact that I was busy trying to keep my father upright, I would've torn Dagur apart, piece by piece. "You're a dead man, Dagur."

"Ah, but you see, my dear, I don't think I am." Dagur twirled his knife around his fingers. "Because if you or any of your filthy people as much as attempt to harm me in any way, shape or form, my men will finish off your father for good."

I followed Dagur's nod toward the entrance, where four heavily armed men were standing, eyes fixed on Dagur as they awaited their next order. How had I not noticed them earlier? "But worry not, my dear, I've got a little deal that will benefit the both of us."

A huff escaped me as I bared my teeth at him. "I won't accept it, I'll find the antidote by myself, thank you very much."

For a moment, I could've sworn I saw a look of annoyance flash across his face before his regular mask of casual amusement was put back on. "Do as you will, but the thing is ..." Why did he have to stop for dramatic effect? I have no clue."There is no cure."

All the rage I had built up over the past few minutes had been knocked over by Dagur's forceful blow to my psyche. There was no cure? How could there be no cure? Surely, I had suffered enough for one lifetime, the gods couldn't truly be this cruel? They wouldn't take away the one thing that mattered most to me, the one thing I had left, would they?

"What do you mean there's no cure?" I spat, my eyes burning as my mind conjured cruel little images of what my life would be like without my father by my side. "And if there's no cure, why in the name of all of the gods would I ever strike a deal with you? What would I gain from that?"

"Sweet Astrid, how young and naive you are. Don't you realize how exposed you and your entire island have just become, now that your father is ... incapacitated? You, a girl with little to no Chief training, supposed to lead, protect and take care of an entire island by yourself? Even experienced Chiefs struggle with that, so how do you suggest that you will be able to do all of that by yourself, whilst also being faced with a full blown war with the mightiest, most vicious and most feared warrior tribe in the archipelago? Tell me, how will you manage?" Never in my life had I felt as small and insignificant as I felt in that moment. It killed me to admit it, but Dagur was right. How was I supposed to do any of this on my own? My entire life I had just imagined that my father would be dealing with the Chiefing business whilst I was out and about having the time of my life as a shield maiden, but now that I was faced with the reality of me having to take responsibility and step up to lead and protect an entire island full of people with the very limited amount of training I had? It was possible, yes, but if the rumors that had been whispered around the Great Hall all evening were true, Dagur's armada was right at our doorstep and a full blown war with the Berserkers was certainly not something I would be able to handle on my first day as Chief.

It dawned upon me what I would have to do and for me to do just that, I would not only have to swallow my pride but I would also have to throw every last piece of my dignity out the window. Dagur did not only have me surrounded, he also had me in a corner with an axe to my throat, I had no other option but to surrender, not only for my own safety, but also for that of my people. I glanced down at my father, whose head was resting against my chest and I felt my stomach tie itself into a massive knot. I'm so sorry for whatever I'm about to agree to, dad. "Fine, tell me about this deal of yours."

Dagur's grin stretched from ear to ear as the knife he had been playing with earlier was slammed into the wooden table and started rapidly going back and forth from the impact. "As you already know, I am in need of an heir, which is why I am offering you and your island protection from any potential enemies as long as you agree to take my hand in marriage and come to live with me on Berserker island."

Judging by the tone that weighed down Dagur's words, he was deadly serious, but for some strange reason of which I had absolutely no explanation for, I just burst into a fit of laughter. "Y-you want me to marry you? To actually marry you? You must be completely and utterly out of your mind!"

Gone was the look of amusement on Dagur's face as he clenched his jaw and the jugular vein in his neck started pulsing. "You will take the offer if you wish to see not only your people but also your father, live."

"I thought you said that there is no cure for purple oleander?" I snapped back, completely ignoring the potential consequences of my sudden outburst as I cradled my father in my arms.

Dagur's face matched the color of his hair as he looked like he was about to snap my neck in two, but somehow, he managed to keep his cool long enough to hiss at me through his teeth. "When one is exposed to small doses of purple oleander, you are only rendered immensely weakened and sick, but if the dosage is upped, the mortality rate will rise considerably. We have given your father a small enough dose to keep him out of our way, but if you do not wish to take my generous offer, we can always feed him more and kill him off completely."

Coward! Words couldn't even begin to describe how much I wanted to scream that straight into Dagur's face, but as soon as my gaze landed on my father, I realized that if I gave in to my rage, there would be no hope for me, my father or any of the people on our island. How I wished for my father to wake up and say something, do something that could get us out of the sticky situation we were in, but he remained perfectly still and I just prayed that Dagur had been telling me the truth so that there was the slightest chance that I could ever spend another moment with my father.

With a deep breath and a solemn expression, I turned to face the Chief of the Berserkers and give him my final answer: "I'll do it, I'll marry you."