Fishing

Fishing
Fionn’s smile widened slightly, but it was a gentle thing. “Not as glamorous as you might think. It’s a lot of... sitting around. There’s a lot of waiting. But,” he paused, looking out the window for a moment, “I still fish. I found a little spot near a river outside the castle. It’s peaceful there. Quiet. That’s been... good for me.”

A quiet warmth settled between us. His words were simple, but they felt like the most real thing I’d heard in days. Something in me softened, remembering the way things had been before. The way we had been. I could almost picture it—Fionn, the boy who had once run away to escape a life of silence and fear, finding some peace in a quiet corner of the world.

“Fishing?” I repeated, half-laughing despite myself. “You still do that?”

He nodded, the soft glow of a fond memory flickering in his eyes. “Old habits die hard. It’s the one thing I could do without anyone asking questions. It’s... grounding. You’d be surprised how peaceful the world feels when you're just... alone with the water.”

I looked at him, trying to see the boy I once knew—the boy I’d lost, who had run away to save me from a fate neither of us could escape. “I don’t think I could ever just sit there and wait. Not after everything. I’m not... that person anymore.”

Fionn stepped closer, his voice softer now. “You’ve had to become someone else, Arabella. You’ve had to survive. But there’s still part of you that’s you. The one who liked to sit by the fire with me and talk about everything and nothing.”

I met his gaze, the warmth in his eyes pulling at something deep inside me. “I’m still that person. I just... forgot for a while.”

He gave a small smile, the corner of his mouth tilting up slightly. “It’s easy to forget, when you’re fighting all the time. But maybe... maybe it’s time to remember, just a little.”

I took a breath, leaning back against the headboard of the bed, feeling the weight of everything settling in. “So, you’re saying fishing might solve all my problems?”

Fionn laughed—a quiet sound that echoed the way it used to, before everything had been torn apart. “No. But it helps. Sometimes the best way to deal with the chaos is to sit in silence for a while. To listen.”

I sighed, feeling the knot in my chest loosen, if only for a moment. The world outside felt far away, the weight of everything that had happened slipping a little. Maybe it was just the comfort of hearing his voice, the warmth of seeing him again. The person I’d thought was lost forever, the one I hadn’t known I’d needed.

“You really think I could find peace like that?” I asked, genuinely curious.

Fionn’s eyes softened, the laughter fading into something more serious. “I think it’s worth a try. It’s the little things, Arabella. Those moments when you can just breathe, without everything demanding your attention. Maybe... maybe we could go sometime. Together. It might help.”

I smiled faintly, a small, quiet thing that felt unfamiliar. But for once, it wasn’t forced. “I’d like that.”

For a few moments, there was nothing but the sound of the wind rustling outside, the quiet hum of the world moving around us. It was strange—this peacefulness between us, after everything we had been through.

He gave me one last long look before he turned toward the door. “I’ll leave you to it, then. But... think about it, okay? We’ve got time. No need to rush.”

As he walked out, I sank back into the soft sheets, the faintest trace of a smile on my lips. For the first time in a while, I felt like I could breathe. Maybe, just maybe, there was more to life than bloodshed. More than vengeance.

And, for the first time since stepping into this cursed castle, I allowed myself to believe that peace might be within reach.

I picked at the breakfast Fionn had brought me, the food oddly comforting in its simplicity. The fruit was sweet, the bread still warm, and the wine had a crispness that made my tongue tingle. I ate, but my thoughts were far from the food in front of me.

As I chewed, memories from the years after Fionn disappeared came crashing back like a tide I hadn’t known I was drowning in. The smell of cheap perfume, of cheap men. The abuse, the countless homes, foster parents who couldn’t be bothered to even learn my name. I’d been shuffled from one family to another, a stray, unwanted, carrying scars no one would ever see. My life had been a series of dark, desperate nights, filled with pain and confusion.

I’d been used. Over and over. Hands all over my body like ice.

The memories were sharp, biting, like the cold air in the castle. The fear, the moments where I had to fight back against the darkness that had settled into my bones. My escape from that hell, running away with nothing but a dream of vengeance and the bitter taste of all the things I couldn’t undo. And yet, for all the pain that had marked those years, there was a flicker of light.

It was Fionn. My brother. My protector.

I remembered the way he used to make me laugh, the way he’d pull me away from the worst parts of our life with a simple joke or a moment of quiet. Before he was gone, before he was turned, everything had felt like it could be okay. We had been together, and for once, the world had felt small enough for me to breathe. I remembered his laugh, how it would echo in the empty rooms of the house we’d once lived in. I remembered the way he’d make sure I was okay, checking on me in the middle of the night, asking if I was hungry, if I was safe.

Those moments—those fragments of time—felt like a distant dream. How had we ended up here, in this cursed place? How had everything gone so wrong?

But now, Fionn was here. He was alive, and I had him back.

Maybe this was the end of the darkness. Maybe everything would be fine now. Maybe, with him here, I could finally escape the ghosts of my past. Maybe I could breathe again.

And yet, a part of me feared that peace would only be another illusion, something too fleeting to hold onto. Was I only fooling myself, hoping for a life beyond the bloodshed and the betrayal? How could I trust that everything would be okay when my life had been built on lies and violence?

I sighed, pushing the plate away.

Maybe Fionn was right. Maybe I could find some semblance of peace. But the shadows were always lurking, just beyond the light. And the ghosts of the past, the things I’d done, the things I’d survived, would always haunt me.

But for now, I could try to believe in the possibility of something better. I could try, at least.