Fireheart [Fanfiction - Alternate Universe]

Burning from within

CW: Violence, blood, panic attacks, and anxiety. If you feel triggered by any of this, please do not read along. As you can imagine, having Celaena's story in it, this chapter will be pretty rough. Keep safe and don't read anything that will affect you in a negative way <3

------------------

The feeling of the whiskey burning her throat was like nothing she'd experienced before. But the physical pain was better than the emotional one, so she took another sip before letting the first sentence out of her mouth. She'd decided to start with one of the hardest ones.

"My parents died when I was young," Celaena said, and the truth tasted so foreign that she had to down it with another sip of the spicey drink.

"Would you like me to pour some more?" Rowan asked hesitantly, but already getting up from his seat.

Celaena nodded and waited for Rowan to half-disappear into the open plan kitchen and come back with two bottles and another glass.

"Would you prefer something a little sweeter?" He lifted one of the bottles, the one that probably wasn't what she was drinking.

"Sweeter, always," she replied without even thinking.

She'd never been one to drink. She'd tried a few alcoholic beverages here and there in the past, but her life had always been on the line, so being intoxicated had been the biggest 'no' in her life. No one ever told her not to drink, like with everything in life, she had learned what was best for her survival the hard way. Celaena had been like a caged animal, learning by trial and error. One too many drinks and her reflexes hadn't been good enough, earning her a sprained ankle and a possible broken rib. She hadn't drunk ever since.

But it was different somehow, being there with Rowan in a place she was now almost comfortable to be in. After all, he'd saved her life, and even if she knew she should be scared, she wasn't. In that particular second, fear was not one of her concerns.

She wasn't brave, she was comfortable.

Rowan poured a few fingers of the amber drink on the short glass and passed it over to her. She took a small sip, glad to find that Rowan had been right, the drink was sweeter and easier to drink. There was a hint of honey to it, as well as a little smokiness... It was so adequate, it almost made her laugh.

Rowan must have noticed the half-smile because he looked at her with one brow lifted.

"Good?" he asked.

"Way better," she admitted.

"It's one of my favorites, it's a spiced whiskey with a hint of honey. It's aged in barrels that give it a woody and smokey flavor."

It was lighting a fire inside of her. The smokiness swirled inside her body the same way she felt herself burn every time she fought, every time her firsts found their target. It was fire, it was smoke, it was ash, it was her. She was Fireheart, and she had the strength needed to tell this story. She was Celaena, and she could open up to others. But she was also Aelin, and even if she wasn't going to say that out loud, it was her story that she was about to tell.

"Once upon a time," she said finally, "in a land she has since forgotten, lived a young girl that loved her family very much. But when her family decided to move over to a new land, something... something happened, and the girl's parents both died before reaching their destination. The girl was left alone, half-dead, but was found by a man."

She paused, taking in a shaky breath.

"The guy that took her in gave her a roof and told her to forget about who she used to be. Her past was to stay buried, together with her parents, and she was to start a new life. One where rules were dictated, and where she was meant to do as she was told. This girl was taught how to fight, between other fouler activities I rather not mention right now. She had to earn a living and pay for everything she was using, the housing, her food, her clothes, everything came at a price. And that price... It was silence, it was having so many things held against her that no matter what happened, she was owned."