"You always have the best ideas, Halfdan."

Harald called, a small laugh coming from him.

"What better way to soothe a broken heart than to raid a village?" Halfdan cackled before humming a tune.

They only had with them a small group of men, all of whom were not contented with the fight.

After all, wars do not compare to easy pickings.

Harald whistled along to his brother's tune but his thoughts were troubled.

Ellisif. The girl he had loved all his life. The girl he would have, should have married. The girl he was to cut his hair for.

She is married. To a lesser man, no less. Why would she choose a lowly earl over a king? He could not understand it.

As more time passed, he had started getting thoughts that maybe, just maybe he should have killed her.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, he gripped his axe tighter as they approached a small village.

"Do you think there are pretty girls in there? I need my cock stroked." One of the men said, humor in his tone.

Harald clucked his tongue. "It is a farming village. You can find a cow or a pig to fuck, maybe even a chicken, if you can manage to fit it in."

All the men laughed at the expense of one of them and for a second, it was easy to forget. It was not difficult to sink back into his old ways of not taking things too seriously.

The only thing that changed was that his reason for everything was gone. Only his pride and his brother was left.

As they entered the village, it seemed abandoned. That was not uncommon as many had ran at the sight of their great army. But something was not quite right.

It seemed too arranged to look abandoned. The place looked too clean to be abandoned in such a rush. No things were strewn about, no mess.

It only looked empty. But was it?

They plunged deeper into the village, checking the barns and the houses as they went but they were all free of people. Only the livestock were there.

Harald entered one of the houses, a small one at that. It resembled a shack more than a house. The floor near the bed was stained with a dark red, which could have been blood.

Another strange thing is the markings on the floor. If he didn't think it possible, he would believe that those markings looked like the runes of his people.

Weren't the Northumbrians Christians serving their filthy god?

Before he could inspect the odd house even more, he heard Halfdan's shout from outside.

"Brother! There's something you have got to see!" His brother's voice echoed from outside.

Harald adjusted his grip on his weapon before stalking in the direction of his brother's voice.

As he arrived at what looked like the center of the town, all the men were gathered around something.

Pushing them all aside until he reached his brother, his mouth fell open at what he saw.

A girl. A golden haired girl with pools of oceans in her eyes, her arms and legs tied to a wooden beam with a gag stuffed in her mouth. Her eyes were blazing with fierce determination and rage.

Harald's eyes trailed down her body before falling on the pendant around her neck. It was a symbol of the god, Kári. The god of winds.

If he had to guess, the house with the runes, this woman lived there.

Who was she? And what in the world is she doing tied up and looking good enough to eat?

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Kari screamed and kicked against the people she had grown up with.

They had seen the barbarians approach with their army and Kari had suspected that they would run. She had even advised it.

But of course, who would listen to her? The child of the devil?

They were convinced that they could hide away in one of the barns, and wait out the army. Wait for them to leave instead of fleeing.

Kari, of course, had told them that they were being fools. That the barbarians would see right through their guise and attack them.

Their response was that they needed a distraction. Something to take away the attention of the barbarians and the only way to do that was to sacrifice someone.

Sacrifice Kari to sate their appetites and the village would be saved.

She had tried to run, to go as far as she could but they had caught her and tied her up before she could reach another village.

"I grew up with you! I helped you! How could you do this to me?" Kari protested, screaming as they all gathered to head to their hideaway.

"You are one of them! They will not hurt you as much as they would hurt us." One of them retorted. "They will kill you quickly."

"God said to be merciful, to love everyone. You all say you are good! Why do you condemn an innocent to her death? Who are you to judge the scales of life?" She growled, her rage fueling her.

"Our God. You serve different gods, Kari. Our God will forgive us. He would understand that His people have great precedent over sinners." Another answered, shuffling his brothers to the barn.

Kari caught a glimpse of Gareth and his wicked smirk as he approached her.

"Such a waste." Gareth tutted, playing with the pendant around her neck. "I could have shown you what it was like to be with a man."

Kari spit on him. "You consider yourself a man? I would rather die than be with someone like you!"

Gareth wiped the spit from his face before fastening a gag on her. "Do not worry. You will die soon enough. Maybe we will bury you or maybe not. We could just wait for the ravens to pick out your corpse."

Kari struggled, panic overwhelming her being as everyone disappeared inside the barn and she was left all alone.

Was she to die like this? Helpless and alone. No, she could not. Not like this.

She struggled against her bonds, her wrists chafing at the ropes used to bind her.

That was when she heard boisterous laughter and she knew.

The barbarians were here.

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