█ ▌┋ 「♙」` [ praesaga ]
red ; the universal colour of anger -- of rage, of flame, of brimstone. red ; isaac lahey’s one and only true fear. for the red in his father’s eyes oft corresponded to pain. broken bones, broken cries, broken hearts -- all commonplace in the prison house upon the hill. not once in ten years has the steel-topped monstrosity been referred to as ‘home’ to the boy with blue eyes. not since his mother’s passing. a gaping hole never filled, habits bred freely ; two brothers lazing the shores of lake tabrooke from sunrise to sunset.
perhaps that was their first mistake. perhaps even their greatest mistake. the pinnacle of it all.
‘lazy, good-for-nothing children.’
he’s six years old when droplets fall from the sky. camden complains about the weather -- about how it’s going to put their father in a poor temperament ( or at least, poorer than usual ). he complains about sickness, cold already soaking him to the bone.
isaac looks at him with big blue eyes, and mumbles two words.
⊰ ☾ ⊱ ❛ rain. stop. ❜
the rain obeys.
camden looks at him in awe, as if he’s never noticed the way damp curls stick to isaac’s forehead -- as if he’s seeing isaac for the first time. camden looks at him, and smiles.
perhaps that was their greatest mistake. the pinnacle of it all.
‘don’t tell dad. this is our secret.’
hatred of magic is commonplace -- strictly outlawed in the land ruled by macendrall. as for their own town, anderstone? it’s no exception to the rule. their father stands loyal to macendrall and true by the law. which is why it’s always been a risk, spending hours by the lake with camden, making shapes with liquid and seeing how long he can hold his breath.
he’s eight years old, and laughing.
camden looks like a drowned rat, though in spite of it all, his smile is still like sunshine. they’ve been practicing water levitation. and if he expected his little brother to show restraint -- to not dump ten galleons over his head -- he was destined to be disappointed.
he’s eight years old, and when camden’s eyes snap to fear, he’s confused. until he turns around, and sees their father.
perhaps that was their greatest mistake. the pinnacle of it all.
‘inside. now.’
he buries his brother beneath a tree by lake tabrooke, and visits him every wednesday. people tell him to let go -- that it’ll be easier as he grows up ; hurt less. they lied. it hurts more every day.
ten years have passed. isaac is now a man of eight and ten. and it’s a wednesday when everything changes.
he’s swimming, of course -- does so every week. camden’s dying wish, though he needn’t have bothered. the sea has always sung to isaac, like a siren to a sailor. to stay away from it would only lead to madness. he sinks beneath transparent liquid, action commonplace enough to be called a ‘fish’ by neighbouring homes.
but today, nothing is common. a glint catches his eyes, buried beneath moss-covered rocks. and when his hand encases the silver-metallic object, it feels warm.
it’s the most beautiful ring he’s ever seen, slipping easily over his knuckle. blue-aquamarine hues dance in fractured light, glittering wildly despite the limitation of light underwater. he smiles.
if only he knew.
touching this ring was the biggest mistake.
the pinnacle of it all.