I Want to be Kind [-Thorfinn X Reader-] [Vinland Saga]

Bloodlines

"Left! It's leaning left! Tilt the other way!" I hear Bjorn yelling out orders to the men pushing the sled that me and the prince currently sat in as they tried to get it over a wooden bridge. "Don't go left you fucking idiots go right!" He shouted as the sled tilted the wrong way.

It had been around two days since we had left the village. Barely able to sleep for only a handful of hours a night before getting up and marching again. I glanced down at the prince who was currently resting his head in my lap. Ever since Ragnar had died he hasn't spoken much to anyone, but he often rested against me for comfort in his time of need. I didn't mind it, a part of me felt guilty for Ragnar's death so if there was any way for me to help the prince grieve I would do it.

Once the sled was safely across the bridge and the rest of the men were able to cross my father called for any man with an axe to cut it down to slow Thorkell. I watched the men as they wadded into the shallow river, and began cutting down the legs of the bridge. "Thorfinn, Bjorn, come over here. (Y/N) you too." My father called for us three.

I furrowed my brow in confusion at his sudden call for a meeting, but I shrugged it off as I shook the prince awake. "Wah-" he mumbled groggily. "Mind lifting your head, I need to get out." I told him. He slowly nodded as he sat up, raising one of his hands up to his head and rubbing his temples. "I'll be right back." I said climbing out of the sled.

Once I was with the three other men my father whispered for us to come closer. We obliged and he said in a low voice "The men will be betraying me soon enough. If not now then they will be soon."

"What?" Bjorn muttered, all of us looking at my father in surprise. "it's a specialty of mine to know a man's true nature. And these men are too scared to be faithful, they will betray me for a chance to be spared by Thorkell." He said matter of factly, letting out a heavy sigh. "If anything happens Bjorn I want you to man the princes sled, (Y/N) stay with the prince and protect him. Thorfinn you will ride with them on horseback. You three are the only ones I can trust to keep the prince safe."

I'm surprised my father put faith in Thorfinn by involving him in this plan. If the men betrayed Askeladd then that would mean a chance for him to kill my father in the chaos, but I supposed then that wouldn't be the honorable way to kill my father. Which was all that Thorfinn wanted, was to avenge his father with honor.

I glance around at the men, some casually sneaking glances at us as well. Some whispering amongst each other, it was if they weren't even trying to be coy with what they were planning. Once you looked for the signs it was easy to tell. "Now Bjorn and Thorfinn I want you both to take charge of that sled now. I need to talk to my daughter alone" He ordered them. As they walk away Thorfinn sends me a look of concern and confusion for what was to come.

"What is it father?" I asked once the two were out of earshot. "Little dove there is much that I must tell you and so little time to say it." He motioned for me to walk with him farther away from the men. I wonder what he could have told me. And why did he tell me there was so little time left, did he think he would die soon?

Once far enough away he stopped and stared at my face. "You look so much like your mother. I have always wished she could have seen you grow into a woman." He said, a small smile growing on his face. I was shocked, he had never before talked about my mother, and when he would it would be small details. "What was she like?" I ask him.

"She was a strong woman with an adventurous spirit. She actually came from a noble birth, the daughter of a powerful Jarl who had been arranged to marry another man. But we met the night before her wedding when she had decided to run away. When I found her at the docks trying to board my ship." He chuckled, remembering a long lost memory. "She pleaded for me to let her join, I was reluctant at first but she wouldn't leave us alone. So I eventually caved in and allowed her to join. We eventually fell in love and got married. Soon after that you came along."

I nod along to his words, listening to each word he says. I couldn't believe that my mother had been not only a Viking but a woman of nobility. "But she's not the only one of noble birth. I come from a great king of the old country Britannia. His name was Lucius Castus Artorius, my mother, your grandmother named me after him. That is my true name, not what you have known me as." My father explained to me.

I'm shocked at all of this information. So I not only came from a Jarl on my mother's side, but I came from a king on my fathers side. My head started to swim as I tried to process all of this. "Why haven't you ever told me about all of this?" I demanded.

"I wanted you to live without the responsibility of your birth as I have. I thought it would be better to leave the legacy of Artorius in the past. And for your mother's side, I figured it would be better if you just never knew for even she never wanted you to get involved with them. But now things have changed, with the prince in our possession we can hold a high position in court if we plop that prince's ass on the throne." He explained.

"So why are you telling me now?" I asked suspiciously. "Because I may die." He answered, confirming my fears.

"No you can't die. You can easily get away with the rest of us if something happens!" I argued with him but he just shook his head. "And if I can't then that means you need to know everything. That you are a child of Wales, that you hail from the king Artorius. That you are (Y/N) Artorius Castus." He said.

I shake my head slowly, I couldn't be from nobility. I was a warrior, I was a Viking who has fought wars and gone through hell and back all of my life. I was a simple girl who knew nothing of noble life.

"The reason why I have pushed you to look after the prince and be his bodyguard is because I wanted you to get closer to him. I want you to try and marry the prince, with your blood it would be in his best interest. Wales would support you, the men who had escorted us in Wales know who we are and have proof of our bloodline. There is also the fact that your mother's family may take you in with proof of this." He told me, reaching into one of his pockets and pulling out a ring that held a family sigil on it.

"This would be proof of who you are. This belonged to your mother, her name was Sigrid of the Hardrada family." He explained giving me the ring. I nervously wet my lips as I stare down at my mothers ring when something he said jumps into the forefront of my mind. "You want me to marry Canute..?"

He gives me a hard look. "Yes I do. That is why I am telling you all of this, it was my goal for retrieving him from Thorkell."

I feel my heart drop. I couldn't marry Canute when I was currently growing feelings for Thorfinn. Sure Canute was a nice man, but I didn't feel anything for him. I wanted to argue with my father, that I could never fulfill his wishes but I knew if I did he wouldn't dare listen to my words like always.

"I understand."