"What did he say?"

Kari looked up from her meal with a questioning expression, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "What?"

"The Saxon king. What did he say to you?" Harald clarified, his arms crossed over his chest as he placed both his feet atop the table.

As he asked her that, she could not help but recall the words that the old king said to her, how she looked so much like her father. It reminded her that this new world that she had joined, she would have to navigate this one carefully too.

To make matters worse, Harald did not seem too fond of her father or her half-brothers. He was only there for pride and loyalty to his fellow men. It had nothing to do with the man itself but rather the legacy that they would all be leaving behind.

Especially since they had defeated kings and armies alike. It was no easy feat and would be counted amongst other stories that would be retold.

"Nothing. He was mad. Just some things that didn't make any sense." She shrugged noncommittal, spooning some stew into her mouth.

"What did he say then?" He challenged, raising a disbelieving brow.

"He was spurting out nonsense. I don't know." She retorted, glaring at him angrily for trying to force the topic at hand. With her short temper, she pushed his feet off the table and attempted to leave.

He clutched her arm, beckoning her to look at him. "I want the truth, Kari. I know you heard something, something that must have struck a chord for you to react the way that you did."

She exhaled, somehow calming down from the feeling of his large encompassing hand on her arm. "Why do you want to know so badly? Is it that important to you?"

"Yes! It is." He exclaimed, wanting to make it clear that he wanted to know what it was that was bothering her so that he could put a stop to it, not so he would have his daily taste of gossip.

"Why then?" She asked, wanting to understand why he wanted to make such a thing be his business. It was not his problem to address. The last thing he needed was another girl's issues.

"Because it affected you and I-I wish to help." He said, finally letting go of her arm as if he had only just realized that he held her.

She had a certain effect on him that no one else had. Somehow she could make the rest of the world feel like nothing, feel useless in comparison to her. Every time he was near her, it was as though she was the only thing that mattered.

It was similar to how he made her feel. Stubborn as they were, none of them dare address it but being in each other's presence made them have their own world.

That was the reason why Kari found herself telling him the truth of what King Ecbert had said. "He said I looked like my father, that I had his eyes."

"Your Viking father?" Harald questioned, drawn aback by how the Saxon king could have known her father.

"That's the one." She nodded, sighing at the small weight being lifted off of her shoulders. It was just a mere fragment of the truth but being able to tell Harald has already done so much.

"Your father must have been a member of Ragnar's original company." He concluded, having no idea on how close he was and how far he was from the truth.

"That's right." She agreed, rubbing at the spot where his hand's warmth could still be felt.

Harald paused, taking a closer step. "And you know who he is."

Kari remained silent, hesitating to look up at him for fear that he would be able to pick apart the truth in her gaze.

His hand reached out to tilt her chin upwards, making her eyes meet his clear azure ones. "Kari, you can tell me. Have I given you a reason not to trust me with the truth?"

She looked up at him. "No, it's just that I don't want my whole life to be centered around the fact that he was my father. Growing up, I had to be faced with jeers and insults because of my mother, because of what she did. I don't want things to repeat themselves."

He vowed, needing to be closer to her, to understand her. Frustration coursed through his veins at not knowing how to do so. "I won't let them do that to you. I'll kill anyone who would try, believe me."

She explained, her hand raising to settle on his chest gently. "I know. I just want to be Kari and Kari alone. For now. I don't wish to be defined by someone who is already dead. I want a life of my own not shaded by my parents' decisions"

"So he is already dead then?" He gathered from what she said.

She pushed at him angrily, not at all happy with the fact that he was so close to the truth. "Ugh! Harald, I already told you that I do not wish to speak of it yet you keep bringing it up."

He hastily said, trying to bring them back to the position they were in a few seconds ago. "I don't understand why it is such a sore topic for you."

"You know what, forget it." She breathed, rolling her eyes and walking away from the most infuriating man she had ever met before she could think about doing something she might regret.

"Where are you going? You left your food." He asked, picking up the plate and chasing after her.

"I'm not hungry." She called over her shoulder, quickening in her steps.

"Kari! Trouble! Damn it all!" He ran after her, trying to get her to finish her food like they were two ignorant children.

After he had managed to get her to finish off her plate, the issue of the truth and what King Ecbert had said had more or less disappeared from both of their minds.

That was the problem. Having their own world meant having their own little respite from the world.

Even then, the world had a way of making itself be remembered. Always.

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"All I want is to choose the manner of my own death."

Bjorn looked up at the pathetic man inside the metal cage. He looked more like a beggar than a king at that very moment. His choice of death for Ragnar's dream seemed like a good exchange.

He and his brothers had been at odds with one another on what to do about King Ecbert. For a piece of land that would rightfully be theirs to farm and settle in, he had to allow the king to choose the way in how he would die.

"I agree," Bjorn said, turning to leave. At the last second, he turned back around, demanding answers. "The girl outside, the golden-haired one. How do you know her?"

"You do not know. Ah, I see." King Ecbert smiled bitterly, his body wracking with coughs from the dust and smoke.

"Know what?" Bjorn neared, leaning on the cold metal in an attempt to scare the older man.

"Nothing." King Ecbert shrugged, looking not in the least intimidated by the tall Viking. "As for the girl, I knew her father very well."

Bjorn reasoned, his words finally making sense in his head. "She is a Saxon. Was one at least."

Ecbert chuckled under his breath, shaking his head. "Her father was Viking. I know it. Her eyes, I cannot get those eyes wrong."

Bjorn started, his eyes widening in surprise. Her eyes. He and Ubbe had thought that her eyes were familiar. The eyes they had seen some time ago. A Viking.

"How do you know her father?" Bjorn questioned, grabbing at the metal bar harshly.

"He was my friend. My dear friend." Ecbert rambled, his words transitioning into sighs as if he were truly going mad.

"Friend?" Bjorn asked, not sure if he heard right. Ecbert, king of Wessex, is friends with a Viking. With Kari's father.

He did not know what to believe. Any possibility was too impossible in his mind's eye. Then the answer hit him. The only Viking that had gotten close to Ecbert, close enough at least.

"Yes, Ragnar was my friend." Ecbert confirmed, enjoying the surprise that emitted from the other man.

Bjorn's eyes widened. The girl who had felt so much like family to him was truly family. His sister. Kari was his sister.

Kari Ragnardottir.

He may not know it but it was like a final piece clicking into place.

The final key to unlocking the future of all Vikings.

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