The Last Kingdom imagines

Finan imagine

The prompt I chose is "Seeing your face is like drinking water after a lifetime in the desert".

Warnings: mentions of slavery, mentions of murder, emotional trauma

When you had met Finan he had been a Prince.
You had met him through his brother Conall who had introduced you because you were betrothed.
Conall was a Prince as well, and as a mere dairy maid you had jumped at the opportunity to better your life and that of your family by marrying a rich man and a man with status.
What you had not expected to happen though was that you fell in love with your betrothed's brother.
You hadn't expected to fall this hard either, so hard that you couldn't go through with the wedding.
When Conall found out he was furious, banishing you and selling his brother to a slave ship you didn't even know the name of.
You were alone, without either a roof over your head, money, nor someone to turn to, only with the knowledge that the man you loved was off far worse than you.
It destroyed you that you couldn't straight away go after Finan to find out his whereabouts and even somehow try to save him, but you needed money for the way, which you didn't have.
You did anything that promised even the least bit of coin, collecting as much money as possible and working until you fell asleep of exhaustion every day.
When you finally gathered enough money to start your journey you got on your way to the coast, trying to find any harbor and ask about slavery ships.
It took you months to find the right ship, and even more to find out their route.
You didn't know if Finan was still on the ship, sold, or killed, and not knowing scared you immensely, but whenever you reached a harbor they had always set sail to another location you had to prod out of the grumpy and uninterested sailors and fishermen.
You were always on the move, not caring for much but the wish to see Finan again.
He was in your dreams, you relived memories you had together, and when you woke up you got straight to work, to be able to make more memories with the man you loved more than anything.
He had promised to marry you, and you had planned to run away together before Conall discovered you, and you were holding onto that knowledge.
He had wanted to marry you, to risk everything for you, and now it was your turn to do the same.
And so you risked everything, your life, your sleep, your health, because you sometimes didn't have time nor money enough to eat, everything because you needed to see him again.
Your search brought you around, from Carlingford, Drogheda, over Dublin, Wicklow, and Arklow you got as far as to Wexford, before some people told you they might be heading to Strathelyde.
It took you a lot of time to earn the money to go overseas, but when you did you were on celtic ground from which you traveled to the North of Northumbria.
The whole search had been emotionally and especially physically exhausting, but you didn't allow yourself more than a few hours rest.
You knew you were on dangerous grounds since you used a frequented travel route and you were in Northumbria, which crawled with Danes and highwaymen, but it was the fastest way to Edinburgh, where you had heard the ship was heading.
On the route you were one day surprised by a group of riders, Saxons and Danes alike that were traveling your way.
They halted when they saw you, asking what your business was and if they could help you somehow.
You didn't trust them, but they had horses and you were exhausted, and so you told them about Finan.
You didn't tell the whole story, keeping most of it to yourself by simply stating that your man was taken by a slave ship and you were traveling to find him again.
It was a ridiculous thought, that you alone wanted to save a man that was on a ship guarded by armed convicts, but none of the people in front of you laughed at your determination, seeing how desperate but strong you were.
When they told you that they were searching for their friend, who had been taken by the same slavers you couldn't believe your luck, and you almost cried when they asked whether they could take you along.
They wanted to ambush the slavers, and you were relieved by the fact that you finally had a realistic chance to get Finan back.
When you arrived at the shore where you had found out the slavers met you could see tents and a docked ship, and you were yearning for Finan more than ever, now that you were so close to his release.
Ragnar, who you had come to trust over the course of your shared journey, asked you to stay behind because of the violence you would have to witness and the danger you would be put in, but you simply shook your head.
You had gotten so far, and you would finish it just like the other people on your search party.
Ragnar didn't ask again, knowing now that it had become a personal vendetta for you, maybe even more than for any of the others.
As soon as you reached the shore you looked for Finan, having immense difficulty in the chaos of fleeing slavers and murdering Danes, and for the first time you understood why people felt the urge to kill.
When you spotted Finan you overlooked him at first, though he looked frail and exhausted to death he was stronger now, but the soulless look in his eyes scared you more than you had ever been scared.
He didn't notice you at first as you made your way towards him, as he followed one of the slavers.
Still standing on the shore you stepped back into the water as you watched as Finan struck down the man that had tormented him for years, the hollow look in his eyes followed by one of desperate triumph and realization.
He was standing on a dune, looking over the shore when his eyes set on you.
You were in shock, that was why you had stumbled backwards into the water, in shock of seeing Finan again after all this time, of seeing him in such a vulnerable state, and of watching the man you loved kill someone in cold blood.
You watched as you saw Finan's lips form your name, but the wind carried it away from you.
You couldn't move but you watched as Finan stumbled forward, reaching you and almost falling forward until you caught him, wrapping your arms around his waist as he stared down at you, a hand on your face as an attempt to see if you were real, or a mere product of his imagination.
When he touched your face his lips opened as he let out a sound of disbelief before his eyes raked over your face, tears forming in his eyes as you already felt your own tears falling.
When he spoke your name this time it was audible, and at hearing his voice after so long you moved one of your hands to his face, tracing the cheekbones that were visible after his skin had caved in from lack of food.
"I love you", you whispered and Finan let his head fall to your level, still gently tracing the side of your face to make sure that you were actually there with him.
"What are you...?", he asked and you shook your head gently as you took your hand away from his face to let it run through his hair, a sensation you had been missing for too long.
"I came to find you", you whispered and Finan finally hugged you, bringing his lips to yours.
During the kiss you wrapped your arms around his neck tightly, crying stronger as you finally felt him in your arms again.
When Finan let go of you you were still desperately holding onto him, not wanting to let go of him in fear of losing him again.
"I'm sorry you were scared but I'm back, and you are crushing me a little", he whispered and through your tears you had to laugh a little as you pulled away slightly, just enough to look at him.
The water was ice cold but you didn't feel anything but the arms that were wrapped around you and the last trace of the kiss that still lingered on your lips.
"Seeing your face is like drinking water after a lifetime in the desert", Finan whispered as he once again set a hand to the side of your face, and you laughed again, overjoyed that he was with you once again.
"I love you", you whispered and Finan answered with the same phrase, bringing you closer to kiss you again.
Your relationship would be a different one than the one you had led before because you were different than before, but neither of you minded, because as long as you had each other you would be able to face anything and everything that came along.