Life and death tend to go hand in hand. One cannot exist without the other. Both are two sides of the same coin. It is unnatural for one to live forever and for one to never live at all.

Being faced with death early on was a stark revelation to Kari Ragnardottir. Seeing her mother's corpse lying in what had been their home was a terrible introduction to such a concept for a young girl.

She had not been so innocent in the ways of the world. She had known what ravaged the earth. Death, famine, plague, sadness, cruelty. It was one thing to hear about it yet it was another to have it happen to oneself.

It had come without warning. That was the worst part. Her mother had just been telling her to collect some herbs for that day and to store goods for the upcoming winter. She knew that no one would help them should they lack in supplies.

The next thing Kari knew, her mother was gone and she was all alone. Death had not been kind to a young girl who knew not how to survive on her own but it was Death who taught her how to be strong, how to rely on her own strength.

Death had been a companion as had solitude. It was Death who freed her from such a life when Death claimed the souls of all those who had tormented her over the years. For a time, she did not care once about who was affected by her supposed companion.

Now, she regretted her animosity and ignorance. As Kari looked on at the men who steadily carried body after body of both the injured and the dead, she felt her heart break for every warrior she had promised victory.

She had spent all morning helping out wherever she could, tending to the wounded. She had cleaned wounds and held down men who needed their wounds sealed by heated metal. She would have done more but when she saw a young boy, barely fifteen, bite into a piece of leather as his arm was sawed off, she had to stop before she broke down in front of everyone.

She could not help but hold herself up to blame when she was one of the reasons why they embarked on that journey in the first place. All her talks of victory and conquest were what tricked their idealistic minds into losing their lives.

Vikings had a beautiful sentiment that should they die in battle, they would be joining their gods and fellow warriors in Valhalla. Even that did little to ease her, that afterlife did not make their deaths hurt any less, especially for the families they left behind.

Kari stood alone, watching from where she was. She needed to be alone. Harald had been worried but he had understood once he saw her face. They needed to talk but it was hard to speak when their voices were drowned out by the cries of the suffering.

She doubled over in pain, hurling whatever she had managed to shove down that morning. It had been days since they arrived back at Tamdrup but her ailment had not left her. She had found out why the day before.

Once she had recovered, Kari wiped her mouth clean before pressing her palm on the lower part of her abdomen. The reason why she had been so sick, why she had been feeling terrible beyond words, was that she was with child. She had missed her courses the previous month but she had thought that it was due to the stress she had been feeling about the upcoming battle.

It was horrifying. She wished she had another word to describe it but that was the only one that came to mind. When her mother chose to take her own life, leaving her, barely a child, to fend for her own, Kari vowed that when she would become a mother, she would do her best to be a good one.

But it seems that the life she had created for the child yet to be born was one that would leave them scarred before they could even start to think for themselves. She had marked herself a terrible mother before she could even give birth. How the gods played their tricks indeed.

She had not told a single soul. Not even Harald. They were all suffering a loss beyond belief. Everyone was frustrated or despairing. Who would want to hear such news when so many had died? If the guilt had been bad before the battle, it was much worse to see what has happened after.

A child. They had spoken briefly about having children after they had gotten married. Harald wanted to be a father and Kari wanted to be a mother. It should have been as simple as that. They wanted to give their child the world but what kind of world would they be giving?

"Trouble," A man's voice pierced through the tempest of her thoughts. Naturally, only one man called her that, and even despite everything, his voice brought her comfort.

Plastering a smile on her face, Kari turned to face him. "Harald, is something the matter?"

"Of course. I was missing you. I'm always missing you when I'm not with you." He answered without a beat, offering her his hand.

Taking it, she was pulled to her feet as she grinned at him. Only he could muster a smile from her face. "Here I am."

He took both her hands, pressing his lips to her knuckles gently. "Here you are. What's on your mind?"

She sighed, her shoulders drooping as she remembered what she had been thinking about before he had arrived. "Too many things. I don't think you really want to know all of it."

He shook his head, disagreeing immediately. "Nonsense. I always want to know what's on your mind, no matter how dark they may seem."

She confessed honestly. There was rage and sadness, a great disturbance that would not do well for all of them now. "I'm afraid there's hardly anything happy on my mind now."

He let go of her hands to clasp her face, keeping her focus on his and him alone. "Kari, you have always been my light. Now, let me be yours."

Tears began to pool in her eyes as she felt her defenses crumble but she knew that she would be alright because he was here and he wouldn't let her fall apart completely. "I love you, Harald. I really love you. I know I rarely say it but know that every time I see you, every time I look at you, I love you."

He placed a kiss on her forehead, then her nose, and finally her lips. "I love you. Beyond darkness, beyond light, beyond eternity."

That was how she knew that they would find a way to make it work. There were a lot of questions that would remain unanswered and there were still issues that were left unresolved, but Harald was here and they would be alright.

They stood there together in silence for some time. No other words needed to be uttered between them. They could have stood there for even longer, merely in their own world, with nothing else but them, but they both knew that they had responsibilities that needed attention.

One of them being that they had to figure out what to do next. That was how they found themselves in the main hall. They walked in to find that both her brothers were already there. Ivar lying down with his eyes closed and Hvitserk looking down at his clasped hands, lost in his own thoughts.

Kari moved towards Hvitserk, slipping into the seat beside him, and taking one of his hands. Without a word, he squeezed her hand, recognizing that they both needed comfort.

"You were too clever for your own good, Ivar. We had the advantage and we lost." Harald broke through, seating himself on the bench facing all of them, his eyes on the one man he blamed for their failure.

"As I remember, you approved the plan." Ivar reminded, still keeping his eyes close as if their defeat had no effect on him.

"Up until that moment, you proved yourself a good tactician. I believed in you. I might not be so quick to endorse your plans next time." Harald scoffed, not at all liking how the other man was acting so nonchalantly.

"You do as you see fit, King Harald." Ivar mused without a care in the world.

Hvitserk broke the tension between the two by speaking up and offering his own solution. "Ivar, Uncle Rollo once told me on his ship on our way back from the Mediterranean, he said that if I ever needed his support, all I had to do was ask."

Kari's brows furrowed at the mention of an unfamiliar name. "Who is Rollo?"

Hvitserk answered his sister. "He is our uncle, our father's only brother. He is Duke of Normandy now."

Kari nodded thoughtfully. "I see."

"What do you think?" Harald asked Ivar, elated upon hearing about such information. "Come on! What do you think? Do you want the Franks to help us?"

Ivar's only answer was, "I think you ought to leave at first light tomorrow."

Hvitserk exhaled victoriously, standing up and clasping Kari's shoulders before turning to leave to prepare for his journey.

The three were left to ponder on what this meant for them. The only thing that came to mind was a new opportunity. Should they garner support from such a powerful kingdom, they will be sure to gain victory.

At that moment, that was all they wanted. A victory to erase such a defeat.

▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎

Kari closed her eyes for a moment before realizing that she would not be sleeping for another second.

Trying to suppress a groan at her lack of success in trying to get through a single peaceful night of rest, she raised her head from the warmth of her pillow. Tightening the small leather band she had used to tie her hair back, she smoothed out the remainder of her unruly curls.

She turned her head slightly to look at Harald sleeping soundly. He was snoring softly, clearly tired from the events of the day. His arm was slung around her waist, almost as if he could not slumber comfortably without a part of him touching her.

She found herself smiling fondly at him. He really was quite adorable when he was sleeping. She laughed softly when he mumbled jibberish in his sleep. It was one of the little things that only she would know about, her heart warming at the thought.

Shaking off the last bouts of sleep, Kari carefully removed herself from the arm wrapped around her. Harald let out a grunt, his arm moving restlessly until she shoved a pillow under it. He exhaled loudly before embracing the pillow as though it was her.

Allowing herself one last glance at him, Kari stood from their bed and wrapped a cloak around her body. Making as little sound as possible, she slipped out of their chambers, not having a clear destination in mind.

The sun had barely begun to make itself seen, the night still a predominant factor in the sky. Stars were still glimmering though some rays were already shining through.

Walking through the Great Hall, Kari was surprised that she was not the only one who was awake.

"Hvitserk, what are you doing up?" Kari approached her brother who stood standing in front of the window.

"I could ask you the same thing." Hvitserk smiled, placing an arm around his sister.

"I've been restless. I can't seem to fall asleep for long periods of time and whenever I do, I wake up hurling my guts out." She admitted, letting out a sigh.

"Would you like to come with me then? Many illnesses are cured by a trip to a faraway place. It is warmer there, maybe you need some warmth to feel better." He offered, worried about his sister's state.

"It's fine. My ailment is not something to cause much alarm over." She assured him, laughing softly to herself.

It was easy to speak to Hvitserk, much easier than she would like to admit. Her brother had a quiet and somber soul, like that of an ocean with its waves carefully lapping at the shore.

"Are you certain? If you are unwell, then you should talk to a healer." He turned to face her, concerned as he began to remember all the times when he would see her looking pale, having headaches, or retching over the boat.

Kari blurted out of nowhere. "I am pregnant, Hvitserk."

Hvitserk's eyes widened as his eyes moved from her face to her flat abdomen, her words sinking in. "I-oh. Oh!"

She fumbled, looking down at her hands as she took a step back. "I know. It is not the most ideal situation to be in right now."

He asked, still comprehending that there was a child, an unborn child, but still a child nonetheless inside his sister. "Does Harald know?"

She told him honestly. "No one knows except for you and me."

He affirmed, knowing that though he may not know Harald well, it was clear to anyone with eyes that he loves his sister very much. "If you think he will not be happy about this child, you're wrong. He loves you. He would love your child without question."

That was part of the reason why she found herself telling Hvitserk about what was bothering her. He may be a fearsome warrior but he knew how to be gentle with one's feelings. Instead of panicking or finding cause for concern, he was there comforting her.

"We're at war. We need everything at our disposal now and I-I don't want to be an obstacle. I want to be here for him, I want to fight alongside him but at the same time, I want- I just want to be a good mother." She revealed, her eyes pooling with tears and trailing down her cheeks.

"You will be. You already are, seeing as you want to be the best one you can be for your child. We'll end this war as soon as we can. I promise." He embraced her before wiping away her tears with the pads of his thumbs.

"You can't know that." She shook her head, in denial.

"We will." He emphasized before squeezing her cheeks in an attempt to take her mind off her tears. "So that the only thing you have to worry about is your future child's name. Perhaps, if it is a boy, you'd like to name him after his favorite uncle."

"I don't think Ivar is a good name." She teased, pushing him away as she finally got a grip on her emotions, his words reminding her that there was still hope.

"You're awful!" He dramatically placed a hand on his chest before patting her head. "Cheer up, Kari. It will all work out for the best."

Hvitserk gave her a reassuring smile and Kari found herself believing in him when he told her that things would find themselves working out, with this war, with Harald and their child, even with their family.

She could only hope that he was right.

▪︎°▪︎°▪︎°▪︎°▪︎°▪︎°▪︎°▪︎

Hello everyone!! Yes, Kari is pregnant, this time it is not a drill. This was bound to happen at some point in the story but I figured this would be the most dramatic way. It won't be the main point of the story but it will play a part in the plot so not to worry!