Knut/Canute x fem!reader (in which you are Askeladd's daughter)
/!\ Tome 8 (or 9 i can't remember) spoiler
/!\ mention of death
wc : 1748
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You were wandering around, not far from King Sven’s estate, when you heard commotions coming from the palace. Not thinking much of it at first, you minded your own business, kicking some rocks on the ground with your foot. Sighing, you looked up at the night sky. The stars were kind tonight, bright enough that you could clearly see the constellations. You put your hand up, as if you were trying to catch them. You reckoned that night a few weeks ago, when Knut had told you that if he could, he would bring them to you.
You chuckled at the memory. You two had sneaked out to stargaze next to a frozen lake, hiding from your father’s surveillance. Knut looked so pretty under the soft moonlight.
The fact that he had been so easy to talk to had been surprising, but it had been rather pleasant.
After all, it hadn’t been hard to get close to each other. As the daughter of Askeladd, and him as the prince of Danemark, you two had been put under high surveillance. And since it wasn’t the most exciting thing, you two had talked a lot. One thing led to another and you had become more than friends, but less than lovers. How could you, daughter of a Viking captain, hope to ever have something with a Royal family member?
Still, he had looked at you with kind, almost loving eyes. You realized that night, next to the frozen lake, surrounded by soft snow, that you loved him. The stars reflected in his pale blue eyes. Yet, you said nothing. He couldn’t love you back, and you didn’t want to make things awkward between the two of you.
You were aware of the political tensions surrounding Knut, his heritage, your father and the war. But you were oh so tired of it. At first, you didn’t even wanted to follow your father. He had brought you along, and you didn’t even knew why.
But in the end, you didn’t hold a grudge, because it allowed you to meet Knut. And without a doubt, it was the best thing to ever happen to you.
Lately, you noticed more that the prince was burdened by the expectations, that everyone –including Askeladd– wanted to manipulate him for their own needs. Of course you knew about corruption, and it generally didn’t bother you. But in some way, since Knut was the subject of this corruption, you felt a need to protect him, to shield him from your father’s schemes and the World's shenanigans. But who were you to do that? It’s not like you knew how to fight better than these men, it’s not like they would give up their prey because you were guarding it.
This world was relentless and you were helpless. Sure, you knew how to hold a dagger and defend yourself. Your father wouldn’t have taken you with him without making sure you could fend for yourself as long as he needed to get back to you and fight instead of you.
But to fight against an army to protect Knut? You knew better than to even dream of it.
But you were pulled out of your thoughts by the commotions. You frowned slightly, glancing towards King Sven’s castle. You were used to men being loud, but something felt off this time. You carefully stepped closer, a sudden feeling of dread settling in your stomach.
You heard Knut’s voice. He was talking in an authoritative way, which was unusual for the soft boy he usually was. You tried to come closer, you tried to enter the building, but Thorkell grabbed your waist and led you away. You struggled against him, but it was no use.
“Prince Knut told me to keep you safe, so you’re going to stay away.” Thorkell claimed, tying you to a tree. Because he knew that if he told you to stay away, you were most likely to not obey and run into trouble.
The feeling of dread wasn’t gone, and didn’t go away for the endless minutes you struggled against your bounds. You could see from afar the panic and the chaos that was unfolding. Though, it didn’t seem to look like a battlefield. You tried to untie yourself, but you only managed to burn your wrists. With a sigh, you gave up and just pried to not be forgotten out here in the cold. About an hour later, you finally saw Thorkell and Knut coming your way. “It’s about time.” You grumbled as Thorkell untied you. You immediately noticed the two men were unusually quiet. Thorkell gave a look at Knut and walked away, leaving the prince alone with you. You frowned and glanced at Knut.
“Is everything okay? What happened in there?” You asked, the dread finally coming back like a tidal wave. You looked around the landscape, noticing how the crowd had tamed.
Knut took a deep breath, closing his eyes. “Askeladd –your father– is dead. I killed him.”
You froze, slowly turning your head towards him. “...What?” You weren’t particularly close with your father. He dealt with your presence and you just survived around him. But there were some times, rare and short moments, when he really felt like your father more than a Viking captain that treated you like a burden. Sometimes, you wondered if he would have treated you differently if you had been a boy.
But right now, Askeladd’s sudden death left a hole in your chest. You didn’t know how to react. That’s when you realized you didn’t know what was going to happen next. Your father had always been there to protect you, to shield you from his men and from enemies. Your fists tightened by your side, your jaw clenched. You felt helpless, desperately alone and upset. “I’m sorry.” Knut added.
“You’re sorry?” You huffed. “You killed my father and you’re sorry?” You turned to face him, hitting his chest, but you had no strength to really hurt him.
He let you hit him, without saying anything. It upsetted you more than you cared to admit. Everything was a mess in your head : you were surprised you cared that much about your father, you were mad at Knut for killing him and yet you still loved him. How could that make sense? You didn’t understand. You felt so conflicted it hurt your chest.
Your legs suddenly felt weak. You sat on the ground, putting your hands in your head. Knut watched you carefully, crouching down before you.
“I won’t leave you alone. You’re staying with me, if that’s what you want.” Knut stated softly, putting a hand on your shoulder, making sure to not startle you. “You don’t have to be on your own.”
You pushed his hand away swiftly, glaring at him. How dared he touch you with the blood of your father on his hands?
His eyes widened for a moment, his hand hovering, before he sighed and pulled back completely. He stood up, looking at you with sadness and understanding.
“I’ll be over there whenever you’re ready to talk.” He told you, his tone soft. He started to walk away but he stopped and turned to you. “He died fighting, he was a brave man.” ☙❧
A couple hours later, you finally decided to go to the castle. The night was falling and the cold was rising once again. You had spent the last hours thinking about your situation and about how you felt about it. You hadn’t seen Askeladd’s corpse, you didn’t want to see it. You didn’t want to corrupt the image and idea you had of your father by seeing his dead body. You didn’t know what they’ve done with him, you didn’t want to know. You didn’t accept his death. Once you stepped inside the castle, you were met with soldiers pointing their weapons at you, calling you a slave and telling you to leave. You glanced up, frowning. Knut dismissed them quickly.
You looked at him, crossing your arms. “You got yourself a crown?” You asked.
“I did.” He replied, smiling slightly. A faint blush appeared on his cheeks.
“So what? You’re like…the King now?” You looked around the room, watching men cleaning the blood off the walls and ground.
“Actually, yeah. I am.”
Your head snapped back to Knut, eyebrows shooting up in surprise.
He stroked the back of his neck awkwardly. “Did you know your father was actually the son of a Danish Lord and a Welsh noblewoman?” He asked you. You frowned, confused. “What? I don’t…” You paused for a second, thinking. “I don’t know anything about my ancestors…” You admitted. “I don’t even have a single memory of my mother.”
Knut nodded, looking away for a moment. When he finally put his eyes back on you, his gaze was hopeful. “If… what Askeladd said about his parents and ancestors is true, it means you have noble blood…” Your eyes widened slightly as you started to understand where he was going. “You don’t mean..”
“I mean that we can be together. Officially. I want to make you my Queen. I want to be yours.” He admitted, looking straight into your eyes.
Your stomach dropped and felt as if a hundred butterflies were flying into it. You suddenly felt giddy, heat creeping onto your neck and cheeks. “You can’t be serious, Knut.. It’s foolish.”
“It would be foolish to not take that chance.” He cut you, stepping closer to your form. “I want you to be safe. Now that your father is dead, please let me take care of you. I beg you, let me be your King.” He cupped one of your cheeks gently, as if he was holding a precious diamond. You stared at him in disbelief, but you nodded. “Of course I want that…” You took a deep breath. “But I’m still going to make you pay for killing my father…” You murmured, smiling faintly, not really making a serious threat. You were probably going to glare at him from afar and avoid him for a few days at most.
“If in the end I get to be completely yours, that’s alright with me.” He murmured, hugging you. He rested his head on top of yours, closing his eyes, content.
You pinched his side, and he shrieked, jerking away quickly like a scared cat. “Hey!”
“That’s what you get for killing my father then asking for my hand.” You countered, flipping your hair.
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-> This is not proofread! And english is not my first language so pleaseeeee be kind <3
-> please do not copy, feed to AI and do not put on applications such as character.ai.
-> this is the only account I have. I have not put these on AO3 yet (I don't know if I will, I'm scared)