Foreign love - Thorfinn x Reader

01

Y/n POV

The air was thick with smoke, the acrid scent stinging my nose and throat. Screams and cries echoed all around me, a chaotic symphony of terror. Flames roared like wild beasts, licking at the wooden beams and sails, their heat searing my skin. My chest heaved as I screamed at the top of my lungs, "Daddy!"

I spun around, searching frantically through the haze and chaos. Where is he? My heart pounded like a war drum in my chest. I need to find him! I need to find him! My feet carried me toward the ship, stumbling over broken planks and scattered debris. Tears blurred my vision, but I screamed again, louder this time. "Daddy! Please!" My voice cracked, panic overtaking me.

The crackle of fire and the clash of steel drowned out everything else—until I heard it. A voice. His voice. Faint, but unmistakable.

I turned and ran toward the sound, my pulse quickening. There he was, emerging from the chaos. His face was shadowed by the flickering flames, but I could see the pain in his eyes, the apology etched into every line of his face. He took a step toward me, his movements slow and deliberate, as if every step weighed heavily on him.

"Y/N," he said, his voice soft yet firm, a tone I had never heard before. He crouched to my level, his hands gripping my shoulders tightly. "Listen to me, okay? You have to run. Run as far as you can. Hide, no matter what. Do you understand?"

His words sent ice down my spine. "But I'm scared!" I whimpered, tears streaming down my cheeks. My small hands clutched at his tunic, desperate to hold on.

He cupped my face gently, his rough, calloused hands trembling. "Don't be afraid, little one. I'll find you. I promise." His voice broke slightly, but he forced a reassuring smile. "Now go. Run!"

Before I could say another word, he stood and turned, drawing his sword in one swift motion. My father faced a group of men—pirates, maybe? They moved like wolves circling their prey. He charged at them without hesitation, his blade glinting in the firelight.

"Daddy!" I cried out, frozen in place, my legs refusing to move.

"RUN!" he roared, his voice cutting through the chaos like a command from the gods themselves.

My feet finally obeyed, and I turned, sprinting toward the forest. The trees loomed ahead, dark and foreboding, but I didn't dare stop. The ground was uneven, and my small feet stumbled over roots and rocks, but I pushed forward, the sound of battle fading behind me. My chest burned, and tears continued to stream down my face as I ran deeper into the woods, fear and desperation driving me onward.

I didn't know where I was going. I didn't know if I would see him again. But his words echoed in my mind. Run. Hide. I'll find you.

And so I ran, my father's voice and the promise of his return the only thing keeping me from collapsing in despair.

How did this all happen? How did everything go so wrong? I had no answers, only confusion and pain.

I sank to the ground, my back pressing against the rough bark of a tree. The night was cold and dark, and the forest felt like a vast, suffocating place. My knees were drawn up to my chest, and I hugged them tightly, as if trying to hold myself together. The weight of everything felt unbearable.

Tears blurred my vision as I cried, my sobs echoing in the empty night. I was so scared, so alone. Where was everyone? My heart ached for my family—my mother, my siblings, my cousins. Why was I here, all alone, in this dreadful place?

All I wanted was to go home. To feel safe again. To hear my mother's voice, to see my father's face, to be surrounded by the warmth of family. But that seemed like a distant dream now, one that slipped further away with every tear.

The hours seemed to stretch endlessly as I cried, until exhaustion finally claimed me. Alone, in the dark forest, I drifted into a fitful sleep, my heart heavy with sorrow.

When I woke, the first thing I felt was the cold of the ground beneath me. The second was the gnawing fear in my chest. I sprang to my feet, heart pounding, and without thinking, I ran back to where I had come from, hoping—praying—that things hadn't changed.

But they had.

The ground was littered with the bodies of the fallen, their faces frozen in terror. Some were strangers, others... were they people I knew? I couldn't tell. I ran past them, my breath coming in frantic gasps, calling out for my father.

"Daddy! Where are you?"

But the forest remained silent, the world around me so still it was as if time itself had stopped.

I couldn't give up. I wouldn't.

I kept searching, my eyes desperately scanning the wreckage of the battlefield, until—suddenly—I saw him.

A tall man, his hair as bright as sunlight, moving through the carnage like a shadow. My heart skipped. Could it be?

I ran toward him, my legs shaking from the effort. He was much taller than me, and I tugged at his shirt, my small fingers gripping the fabric. He looked down at me, his expression hard to read.

"What do you want, kid?" His voice wasn't cruel, but it wasn't kind either—just flat, distant.

My voice caught in my throat, but I forced the words out. "M-my daddy... where's he?" I spoke in the language of his people, the words foreign yet familiar in my mouth.

The man's brow furrowed, confusion flickering in his eyes. He looked at me like I was a puzzle he couldn't solve. "Who's your father?"

I didn't know how to explain, how to make him understand. I shrugged helplessly, tears threatening to spill again.

"Well, then I can't help you," he said bluntly, and with that, he turned his back to me.

My heart broke all over again. I couldn't lose him, too. I couldn't be left with nothing.

I began to sob, my body shaking with the weight of it. The sound of my crying seemed to stop him, and he sighed heavily before turning back to face me.

"Come with me," he said, his voice softer now, though still full of weariness.

I looked up at him, searching his face for some sign of kindness, something that would tell me he wouldn't abandon me too. I didn't hesitate. Without another word, I followed him, the cold night pressing in around us as we walked away from the ruins of this unknown place.

I didn't know where we were going, or if I would ever find my father again. But for the first time since everything had fallen apart, I wasn't entirely alone.

And that, at least, gave me a small, fragile hope.