𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝑳𝒊𝒆𝒔 (Thorfinn x Reader)

1. What a weird kid

Some island off the coast of England, 1003

Man. Not eating for 3 days straight really does suck. It's even worse when you're a 7-year-old kid in the middle of nowhere! Well, technically I'm not actually 7. I actually don't remember my real age, I just know I'm not 7. How do I know this? Ever since I was 4 (in this body at least) I've had dreams of a different world than the one I'm living in now. 'Working' in some place called a 'restaurant'. I remember the terms 'high school' and 'teenager'. As well as basic survival skills, but that's about it. Convenient isn't it, to have those memories. But they're very vague. And they've been getting even vaguer these last few months. Not sure why. Don't really care either. I just know that I probably would've died by now if I didn't have a little knowledge that I do now.

I guess I should start from the beginning. I was born to two loving parents, albeit they were very poor. I was their whole world. And honestly, I found myself loving them as well. I knew from the moment I opened my eyes that I wasn't what I looked like. Which, for context, I looked like a baby. For the next four years, it was peaceful. We lived in a village, hidden away from the rest of the world, barely scraping by, but happy nonetheless.

It all ended when the Vikings came. They pillaged and burned everything. Our house was on the outskirts of the village. So my parents were able to tell me goodbye and told me to go to the woods. I guess they thought I'd be better off starving on my own or something than to be fought and sold off to slavery. I ran to a tree I frequently started climbing, which my parents hated, considering I was only four. I climbed as far as I could and watched the Vikings approach the house I grew to love and the parents I grew to love as well.

I watched as they killed my father, who was trying to protect my mother. Then they grabbed her by her hair and dragged her off, probably to rape her and sell her to slavery when they were through. I was angry. More angry than sad. And I didn't know what to do with that anger. So I just stayed un in that tree. I stayed there for the rest of that night and a good chunk of the next day. Once the flames were basically non-existent, I climbed down and combed through the wreckage to find anything salvageable or maybe even survivors. But to my disappointment, everything was ash. I stumbled upon a burnt pile of bodies. They didn't burn enough though, for I could still recognize them as the elders of our village.

After aimlessly walking around for a while, I finally noticed my stomach growling. I went into the forest to find something to eat. My dad was a hunter, so he'd go on trips that would last weeks at a time. My mother was always worried. He used to tell me things from his trip. Like every time he'd run out of food, he'd either hunt for some meat, or he'd find the right berries and the right bugs. I didn't even want to think of bugs, but I couldn't even find any berries, so I just pretended that it was my mom's freshly baked bread which she didn't get the chance to cook much, and ate some bugs. That's how I survived for the most part.

Eventually, a passing merchant group passed by our village and I snuck on one of their wagons. Turns out they also travel by boat, because that's where we ended up after a day and a half. It wasn't too hard to stay hidden considering how small I am. I even got to eat some decent food I found in the barrel I was hiding in. I know stealing is wrong and I wouldn't do it if I didn't have to, but I didn't know if these guys were friendly or not. They could've sold me into slavery if I had shown myself. I didn't take that chance.

After about a week on the boat (it wasn't easy staying hidden, trust me) it seemed we'd made it to a city in England. At least that's what I could make out.

I roamed for a while. Was a begger for most of the time. Right after my 7th birthday, or at least I think it was my birthday, they don't really celebrate those here, so I've kinda forgotten, I decided I'd had enough of this place and wanted to move on. So I snuck onto a ship. After about 2 weeks, we landed on another side of England with a little village. I hopped off the ship to go and investigate. It was a really tiny village, smaller than the one I was from. And that's saying something cause mine was REALLY small. Or at least I considered it to be, but since I've only ever seen it and that big town in England, I didn't have much to compare it to.

Usually, I wake up pretty early, but that morning I didn't, and by the time I did wake up, the sun was up high, and the ship I arrived on was gone. I debated whether or not to enter the village. The people looked nice enough. It didn't look like anyone owned slaves. They probably weren't rich enough. I didn't wanna take my chances just yet, so I decided to observe them for now.

That brings us back to now. I'm really hungry. After the 3 years I spent begging I would only get scraps and bread, but it was better than bugs. I really didn't want to eat bugs. But it's starting to look like I'll have to.

I found some crickets over by a small stream. These will do. They still taste the same. Disgusting. But it's something to eat.

Throughout the day I would just sit in different trees observing the people. I found tree climbing calming, mostly because once you get to the top, you feel you've accomplished the impossible. Especially for someone as little as me. 

It started to get dark, so I decided to call it a day and found a nice tree branch to sleep in. 

The next day, I also woke up later. Because by the time I opened my eyes, the sun was high. I climbed down and walked closer to the village. Close enough to where I could see the village. But all I saw were remnants of what used to be a peaceful village, now burned to ashes, with the villager's dead bodies being carried away. Not again! I thought. I couldn't stand the memories of my own home burning down, so I ran away.

As I was running, I heard grunting from my left. It sounded like a young kid's voice. I decided to follow it.

What I found was a kid with blonde hair and brown eyes holding a dagger, and practicing swinging it. Almost as if he was preparing to fight someone. All I could think was, What a weird kid.

I apologize for any inaccuracies in the story. I know this one wasn't very exciting, but I was trying to set up Y/n's backstory, and I was trying to get most of it out of the way so it won't have to be explained later on. So anyways, hope you enjoyed it.!

                                                                                                                                                 -Peace