TARGET [Tom Hiddleston Fanfiction]

Prologue : Daddy's Little Girl

Tina woke in a cold sweat, her body shaking as the moonlight slipped into her bedroom from behind the curtains. The small fairy silhouettes hanging down from her ceiling casted eerie shadows across her bedroom floor, making her nightmare seem even more real. She clutched her blanket tighter around her, trying to feel its warmth and softness to calm her racing young heart. Her breathing was quick; her eyes darting around the room, seeking out every shadow, fearing her nightmares would jump out at her again. She eyed the large teddy bear in the corner of her room suspiciously; it slumped over in the corner, its large brown eyes watching her from behind its white fur.

"Mum? Dad?", she whispered, brushing her messed up black hair out of her eyes, looking towards her bedroom door. Usually her mother left her door open ajar for her so the soft light of the hallway could creep inside. However tonight, the door was shut, and there was no light coming in from under the doorway. Puzzled, she reached for her beside light and switched it on, her eyes adjusting to the sudden increase of light in her room. At first she thought it must still be part of her dream, so she had turned her lamp on, just like her mother had always advised her. "Light will always wash away the darkness", she had whispered to her one night after she had had her first nightmare and had refused to sleep. She had eventually fallen asleep, clutching at her mother's blanket she had made for her, breathing in her scent, it calming her. The soft pink walls of her room however provided her little comfort tonight, and her drawings pinned up seemed more the creatures of nightmares than the imaginative dreams of a young child.

Admittedly, Tina was only eight years old, but she never wanted to grow up and become like her parents; she wanted to be free, and be a dancer, or a princess. She loved the colour pink; almost everything she owned was that colour or something similar. Her father of course was never fond of it, always wanting her to grow out of it. It was her mother however who encouraged her to be the princess she wanted to be, letting her run around the house in her pretty dresses, twirling around, waving her magic wands. She said that it was merely a phase she was going through, and that sooner or later she would grow tired of it. What she loved more than most was rushing to her father's side and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek when he was working; she loved the small smile it gave him.

She slipped out of bed, creeping over to her bedroom door and opening it as silently as she could. Peeping out, she could see the hallway was dark, the doors on either side closed, but a faint light coming from down the far end of the hallway from the front room. Holding her breath, she tiptoed down the hallway, keeping close to the walls, like she'd seen people do before in spy films. She stopped opposite her parent's bedroom door and silently lay down on her belly, looking under the door. She frowned, seeing no bedside light coming out from underneath it. Tina continued to crawl along on her hands and knees to the end of the corridor, making sure not to make a sound. Getting back up onto her feet, she pushed herself into the wall, and taking a deep breath, peeped around the corner, into the front room.

Her father was sat, still dressed in his business suit which he came home from work in, in the armchair by the window, the table lamp beside him on, a whisky glass in his hand. Tina was quite used to seeing her father sat like this most evenings, but it must be late, as the moonlight coming in from the window cast half his face in shadow, making him look old. Two men dressed in dark clothes stood either side of the empty fireplace, their hands in their pockets, their faces hidden in the shadows so Tina couldn't make them out. The person most intrigued her was the young looking gentleman sat on the sofa nearest her father, a cigarette lit in his hand, a glass in the other. Usually her father never allowed anyone to smoke in the house, so this person must be important she thought. This man was talking in a hushed tone, dropping the ash off his cigarette straight onto the old wooden floorboards, taking a swig of his drink. Her eyes immediately shot to her father; usually whenever she dropped anything, he would tell her to tidy it up immediately, but his expression didn't change, it was as if he wasn't even aware of the man being there, his eyes staring off.

Creak. Tina froze, her breath caught in her throat as her father's eyes immediately shot to her. She looked down at the floor, and saw the little chalk mark she'd left on it, a little reminder for her to avoid that floorboard. "Daddy. I'm sorry", she muttered sheepishly, looking down at her feet. She hadn't meant to disturbed him, only listen to what was going on, as whenever her father was having meetings like this, she was never allowed to listen. He sighed, putting down his glass, tapping his lap. "Come here darling", he said softly, his voice sounding tired. Tina walked over to him, before climbing up onto his lap, her favourite spot. He gently wrapped his arms around her, planting a little kiss on her forehead as he smoothed her hair down. "Why are you up sweetie? Did you have another nightmare?", he asked. She nodded, burying her head into her father's chest, her eyes looking at the man sat on the sofa watching her.

The young man, had short brown scruffy hair, but he was wearing a smart blue suit jacket, dark jeans, but the most striking thing about him which made her nervous were his eyes; a cold grey. He smiled at her, a sly grin across his lips as he watched her. "What's your name little one?", he asked. Her fathers eyes lit up, enraged and his grip tightened more on Tina. "Don't you dare talk to my daughter", he said coldly, spitting at him. "I think your dad is a little mad with me", the man chuckled amused, tossing his cigarette down onto the floor, taking another swig of his drink. Tina looked up at her father, his expression stern, his eyes cold, before looking back at the other man. "You are quite a daddy's little girl", the man chuckled, smiling more at her father than at her. "It would be a shame for anything to happen to her, wouldn't it Jonathan?", he joked, putting down his glass.

"Tina darling, come back to bed", her mothers soft voice said as she entered the room, her beautiful white nightgown almost shimmering in the light as she walked in, her eyes flickering between everyone in the room. Without hesitation, she leapt off her fathers lap, and ran to her mothers, hugging her. "Ah, Tina. A wonderful name, for such a beautiful specimen", the man chuckled, licking his lips, receiving a dark look off her mother. "You will leave her out of it", her father spat in disgust, her mother's arms wrapping around her. The man chuckled, glaring at her father, biting his lip in thought. "You are fully aware of what I am capable of, Mr Highlands. I would be careful, as accidents can happen at any time, to anyone". Her father gulped, his eyes wide, looking from his wife to this man, and to the two other men stood in the room. "You are treading on very dangerous ground, Mr Stone. I would be careful who you threaten", her father threatened darkly, his eyes locked on the other mans slate grey ones. "Lily, take Tina to bed. Now". Her mother took her hand gently, and without hesitation, lead Tina away, out of the room and back to her bedroom.

"Mummy, who where those strange men daddy was talking with?", Tina asked innocently as her mother closed her bedroom door and led her back to her bed. "They were just some people who your father works with. No one to worry about darling", she replied, kissing her daughters head as she tucked her in. "Was daddy mad at them?". Her mother laughed softly, stroking her cheek, biting her lip in thought. "Yes. They let him down and didn't do their job right. They believe that your father set them up, made them get in trouble. But don't worry about it dear, nothing for you to worry about", she said gently. She smiled, and reached across, pulling the blanket over and tucking it over her. "Now, time for you to go to sleep. You mustn't keep your prince charming waiting. He is waiting for you to get back in your tower to rescue you", she chuckled, kissing her daughters cheek as she began to yawn. "Goodnight mum", Tina whispered as she closed her eyes, snuggling herself into the bed, pulling the blanket around her. Her mother smiled weakly, before turning off the bedside light and getting up to close the door, looking back at her now sleeping daughter, lost far away into her dreams already, too young to worry about the world.

[ A / N : Hi Everyone. Thank you so much for reading my story. I hope you like it. This is my third fanfiction book. Please comment your thoughts and vote. Thank you all so much. ]