"Kari, you're alive!"

Harald exclaimed, the smile threatening to break across his face. He was so happy to see her that he could not properly articulate his words. He settled for crossing the boat to pull her into his arms.

They departed from Kattegat as he stood there, embracing her and swaying side to side to assure her and himself that they were alright. Or at least they're going to be.

He pulled away to look at her, expecting to see his glee reflecting back at him. Only, it didn't seem to be pure unadulterated joy shining from her face.

Kari drew her hand back before punching Harald across the face. He wouldn't usually have fallen from such a blow but after being starved, beaten, and restrained, he fell down like a sack of food.

He stared up at her, looking betrayed by her actions. The others in the boat let out a series of coughs, trying to hide their laughter and amusement at the sight of the girl leveling their king with a mighty punch.

They had seen what she could do with a wooden plank and they knew that even if they hadn't arrived, she would've done well enough on her own with her escape.

"I thought you were dead." She glared down at him, both angry and relieved upon seeing him alive, albeit a little roughed up. She almost felt bad for leveling his face with a punch.

To be fair, he deserved it and much more. After bringing them to the place where there were a lot of people who wanted him dead and revealing her parentage to everyone, she was entitled to a little of her anger.

He rubbed his hand across his face, pulling himself up into a sitting position, his joy more palpable than the pains still lingering in his body. "Me? I thought you were dead! But you're alive! Are you alright?"

One of the men swung by, handing the two of them blankets. "She was mighty fine on her own, King Harald. Almost beat us all up with a plank."

"Kari?" Harald wrapped the blanket around himself, looking at the girl in wonder.

There he was, worrying out of his mind if she was alright and apparently, she was going around Kattegat beating people up with large pieces of wood. She may have thought herself a Saxon woman but she had more Viking in her than anyone had thought.

"You are the most infuriating person I have ever met," Kari stated, sitting down beside him

"Now, let's not say things we don't mean, Trouble." He tutted, looking over at her with a satisfied smile on his face. She may be angry at him but at least she was sitting beside him.

She retorted, her hands on her hips. "You let me rave on and on about Kattegat while you had your little malicious take-over plan. Now, you didn't know if it was successful and you brought us to the place exactly where we would have gotten caught and killed."

"But we didn't." He replied simply, patting her on the head. "Now, relax. You look terrible."

She slapped his hand away, looking him up and down. "Me? Look at you. You look halfway to the grave."

He shrugged, wrapping the blanket tighter around himself. "Gee, I guess that's what happens when you get imprisoned for so long."

She sighed, turning to look at him and taking his face into her hands. He looked awful. She may have looked starved and dirty but he looked as if he just entered a battle without any armor on.

Letting go of her anger, she tore off a piece of the blanket and gestured for him to turn around. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

He did as she asked, facing away from her as he said. "Not really. After a bath and some food, I'll be good as new."

She hummed, taking his hair into her hands and brushing through the knotted strands. With skillful fingers, she intertwined his brown locks and braided them together. Using the piece of cloth, she managed to keep it in place.

"I hated not knowing what happened to you. Don't let that happen again." She managed to say, letting go of his now neat hair.

His hands reached out to touch his hair, turning back around to face her, seeing the raw emotion on her face. "I won't. I won't let anyone take you away from me again."

She let a smile creep onto her face, her gaze settling on the far distance of Kattegat, a somber emotion finding its way into her chest. She supposes she could just find out more about her father in other ways.

Wrinkling her nose at the dirty state of the two of them, she let out a breathy laugh. "What I wouldn't give for a bath right now?"

"You know, even with all the dust and grime on you, you're still the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." He mused, chuckling under his breath.

A surprised gasp left Kari as she shoved him away, a little softer now that she was more careful with whatever injuries he suffered. "Well, I wish I could say the same about you but you stink worse than a horse.

Harald's smile glinted, glad that though they had just been beaten, imprisoned, and starved, it was as if nothing had changed from when they left Wessex.

"Quite frankly, Trouble, you stink too."

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"I can smell home."

Kari found her gaze leaving the ships around them to face the man who had spoken. His voice rang out confidently, the shadow of the man who had gotten out of Kattegat long gone.

Harald stepped off the gunwale and headed directly for her, holding out a small bag of food. He popped one into his mouth just before she grabbed the whole thing from him.

Kari pulled out two pieces of dried fish before stuffing them both into her mouth, enjoying the salty flavor as it spread across her tongue. Harald continued to smile at her fondly, his happiness contagious as they neared his home.

"How long until we get to Vestfold?" She asked him, continuing to eat the dried meat. It was almost impossible to get to eat a lot on the ship what with the meals being shared by several hulking men.

"Not long now." He grinned, leaning against one of the smaller masts. Thinking better of it, he knelt down in front of her. He figured that he should probably explain what his plans were now that they were heading to his village. "Listen, Kari, I should probably tell you-"

"What? Are we expecting an ambush from your people?" She teased, trying to make light of the events that had happened.

"No, I just-when we get to Vestfold, I wanted to say that it is not Kattegat. But it is home, at least to me and to these men." He explained to her, not wanting to get her hopes up that his kingdom was a glittering thing under the sun.

She leaned forward, her hand gently tracing the wound above his eye. "Harald, we were just imprisoned in Kattegat. Whatever kingdom I see that we are not treated that way, I'm sure I will love it. Even more, if it is yours."

"Good." He said, taking hold of her hand and pressing his cheek against it. "I want you to feel welcomed. My people will love you."

"Why? Because I am the daughter of Ragnar?" She asked, tilting her head. It was odd that her name alone would bring wonders and cheers all around.

"No. Because you are good and brave, as well as you are beautiful." He corrected, placing a gentle kiss on the inside of her wrist. "And because you were brought there by their most beloved king."

After their near-death and imprisonment, it was a relief to see them laughing and talking like this. Halfdan would be glad to know that they hadn't killed each other yet. Far from it, in fact.

A laugh escaped her lips, her face brightening up. "Alright, I cannot wait to see what you have to show for."

Harald gently squeezed her hand before seemingly seeing something in the distance. He led her to stand up before his finger pointed afar.

As Kari's eyes found the small town in the distance, the endless possibilities reflected in the depths of her cerulean eyes, Harald could not help but feel the guilt rise within him.

He wanted to bring her to his kingdom, yes. But he could not lie that he brought her there for his own reasons. They had come so far from Wessex and he would hate to be the one to ruin things between them.

But he was a king and who could deny that having Ragnar's daughter as his queen would prove to be most indispensable?

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Hello everyone! They finally arrived at Vestfold and even though Astrid is not in the story, Kari will not simply be a placeholder to replace her. She is, after all, a completely different character :>