As much as Kari would like to say that it got easier every time, it didn't.

Running away this time was as difficult as it had been the first time she had tried to escape her little village. Whereas before she only had so little and was forced to go back, this time she was well equipped.

Maybe her heart was the only one that felt at home at Tamdrup. Her head certainly felt that she was meant to leave all along, the mental list of all that she would need had been ready at her disposal.

Nothing should have tempted her to return. She had nothing there. Only painful memories of what could have been if she had been born a different woman. She had always thought that beyond the raging seas, there was a better life for her.

A life where she was a viking, the daughter of a renowned man. She did not even stop to think that it would be that same reason that would lead to her not being able to settle down anywhere.

Maybe her leaving would be the best thing for everyone. None of her brothers would know any better. Bjorn would probably think of her from time to time and maybe one day, she would reach out to him. As she would to Halfdan.

As for Harald, he would probably find a strong beautiful viking woman who already knew how to use a sword like a warrior and who didn't need saving from every little thing. She would be fierce and she would be his queen.

They would probably spend their days looking for towns to raid and enjoy the thrill of warfare. She would get him to laugh and smile and finally be happy. She wouldn't argue with him and she would love him.

She would love him because how could she not? He was brave and strong, ready to fight anything that comes his way to protect those he loves. Kari only wished that she could've been one of those things that he loved.

Kari heaved a sigh, surprised to find wetness pooling down her cheeks. She did not realize that she had begun crying. With a last look back at Tamdrup, she carried on her way to the dug-up road, not knowing where it went.

She knew that she should probably be worried but she couldn't bring it in herself to care. She would figure it out. She would survive. She had done it on her own for so long now.

Her feet had seemed heavier and she found herself dragging each footstep. Maybe she could camp by the road or find a fresh clearing and stay there for the night. It was unsafe but what choice did she have?

She would need to travel over to another village to catch passage on another ship. She could travel to any place, start anew with none the wiser.

She scoffed, Harald probably wouldn't even notice that she had gone. He would throw a fit and then go on his merry way drinking.

What was she doing, Kari thought to herself. That wasn't who Harald was, at least not the Harald that she loved. She was just fooling herself into thinking that she was better off leaving when her heart was telling her to run back from whence she came.

She shook her head. It was too late now anyway. There was no turning back. Precisely when that thought entered her mind, it started pouring.

Large droplets of water fell upon her, the rain soaking her hair and clothes in no time. She let out a frustrated sound. Of all things that could've happened to her, now, it was even raining. There must be some supreme being out there, perhaps one of the gods, who hated her.

After a few minutes, she was drenched to the bone. She was sure that she resembled a drowned animal from how she dragged her feet, her every step creating a sloshing sound.

It took her a few seconds to realize that the loud sound she was hearing was not the pounding of her head but the pounding of hoofbeats along the ground.

With a gasp, Kari spun around, squinting to see who was approaching. Blinking the raindrops from her lashes, she spotted a figure on horseback fast approaching her.

She had half a mind to run but before she could act upon it, and thankfully so, the rider caught up with her, dismounting straight from the horse.

It was him.

It was Harald, looking quite angry and very drenched. He dripped from head to toe, his hair very messy, even though before he would never emerge from his room without it braided.

"You." Harald mumbled, his eyes glowering as he stared at her.

Defensively, Kari crossed her arms over her chest. "Me?"

He took a step forward at the same time she took a step backward. "How dare you leave like that without a single word? Without a single warning?"

Her anger flared at him acting as if his actions did not lead to her doing this. "What on earth are you talking about? Is this not what you would expect? You tried to use me for your own gains!"

"You're right and I am so sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am but you, you're running away and I won't let you, alright? Not like this." He said, not knowing what else to do than to offer all that he had. "My kingdom, my riches, my lands, all of it. You want it, it's yours!"

"What? I don't want those! I don't want any of it! Just let me leave and you can continue on your path to those ambitions of yours!" She was taken aback by what he was saying.

All of those things he was offering her were the things he would have fought for until his last breath. Yet there he was, saying these things, offering her everything he had, just to get her to stay.

"I can't!" He insisted, spreading her arms out wide as if it were obvious.

"What do you mean by that?" Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, not understanding a single thing he was saying.

It was too much. Too good to be true. These things were not things she expected to hear in her life. At least not being said to her. She never thought it would happen to her.

He took a step closer, his voice softer and his eyes calmer. "Not without you. None of those matter without you. I would rather be a penniless nobody than lose you."

The breath left her in an instant as she shook her head. "I don't understand. What are you saying?"

His hands reached out to cup her face, their eyes meeting in a whirlwind of emotions. "It was real. All of it. None of it was an act. Every kiss, every touch, everything. It was all real to me. I want you to be my queen, not because of your father. Because I love you."

Suddenly, everything stopped. Kari could barely register the rain falling all around them. "You-you love me?"

He nodded, pressing his forehead against hers. "Yes, I love you, Trouble. Even when you are the most oblivious creature in this whole world."

"But what about everything else? The expectations that you wo-" She started, only for him to interrupt her midway.

"Fuck those expectations. Fuck everything. I love you, Kari. You and only you. Everyone can go fuck themselves if they disagree." Harald swore, holding her closer.

Despite the vulgarity of his words and the nonsensical way he said them, she believed him. Because the way he said it was so him. And somehow, she understood all that he wished to say.

Unbelievable happiness permeated the stuffy rain air. Like bright glowing sunshine in the middle of the storm. A light in the darkness.

He loved her. Harald told her he loved her.

Kari let out a relieved laugh, a huge weight lifting off her chest as she felt her heart begin to soar. "I love you. Even when you are the most stubborn and idiotic man."

At that he smiled sincerely, taking her hands into his own. The heat of his rough palm warmed her pale, cold hands immensely. "I'm not asking you to marry me or take on any role. I just want you to stay so I can prove to you just how much I love you."

She held back a smile as she raised a brow. "So you do not wish to marry me anymore?"

His eyes widened, clearly not expecting that response. "I didn't say that. I only mean that I-"

She chuckled, placing her hands on his chest to stop him, stopping him before he found himself in an endless tirade of words. "If you're done, I have something to ask of you."

He nodded quickly, raising her hand to press a soft kiss upon her wrist. "Anything, Trouble. Anything at all. Ask and it is yours."

Trying to ignore the roar of her heart and the imaginary warnings her mother would have said, she ripped off a piece of leather from her satchel. He watched fervently as she tied the two ends together.

Without another word, she knelt down on the wet rocky surface, offering him the makeshift leather ring. "Marry me, Harald Finehair."

For the second time that day, Harald found himself at a loss for words. She just kept surprising him over and over again. And he found that there was no one else he would rather spend his life with than her. "Do you even have to ask?"

He knelt down in front of her, allowing her to place the ring on his finger before pulling her into a kiss. His lips yearning for hers as much as his heart yearned to be with her for all the days of their lives.

She kissed him back with equal passion, her hand tangling in his wet hair, deepening the kiss. Needing him and assuring herself that it was real. All of this.

Her mother made a lot of mistakes that Kari was eager not to follow. But she was not her mother. Loving Harald would never be a mistake. Having him love her back was not a mistake either.

Even if they were both standing in the rain, nearly frozen to the bone, things had never been simpler.

He loved her and she loved him.

And that was all that mattered.

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Hello everyone!! YESSSS, they finally got together and finally said those words! A little fluff fluff after all the angst!