THE ROMANTICIST | C. GRIMES

03 | CHAPTER FOUR

Mollie sighed, staring down the brown wooden door. She took the handle, and with another sigh, pushed the door open. Her room had been cleaned since she left. The windows and curtains were open, her bed had been stripped, washed and reassembled-she could tell by the pillow placement-all of the drawings that she'd left scattered had been stacked on her desk, and all of the pictures had been put back in their places.

It felt so strangely alien as she stepped inside, like she'd stepped into someone else's bedroom. And in a way, she had. She got on her knees next to the bed, quickly fishing out the duffle bag she'd been searching for. She threw it down on the bed before going to her dresser. She managed to pack almost half of her clothes before she heard it. Ezekiel's sigh.

"I have to ask again, if you're making the right choice." He said, and she sighed, letting her head hang as pushed another pile of clothes into the bag. "Mollie you don't have to do this-"

"Yes I do." She interrupted, tears stinging at her eyes as she began to collect other things. Journals, a few books, her sketchbooks, and of course, all the little gifts he'd ever given her. "Every time I look to what should be a friendly face, hoping to see a smile, or a neutral expression-hell, I'd even take anger or hatred! But every time...every time it's just pity. This disgusting, hollow, knowing pity. Everyone here knows what he was to me. Everyone. Not one person looks at me without pity. Not even you. And you can't help it, I understand. But I can't do it anymore.

"Everywhere I go here, I see him. Everything I own, everything I do, everything I see. It's all him. And I just..." She paused, trying to steady her voice and her breathing. "If we are all gonna win this war, and never let anything like what happened to him happen again, then I can't be here. I can't see him, and I can't be pitied. I need to go, ezekiel, you need to let me go."

"I..." Ezekiel sounded hurt. "I understand. But let me say this..." She heard his footsteps across the carpeted floor until they were right behind her. His hand grasped her shoulder firmly, and he willed her to turn around and look at him. "You, Henry and...him, you...you three mean the world to me. And I'm going to win this war, for all of you. You know I...I've come to see you as a daughter, Mollie. To watch you grow, and grow in your love with him, it's been a pleasure and an honor. You will always be welcome in the Kingdom. That is my promise to you."

"Thanks Ezekiel." She said, looking up at him. "I'll come home someday. That's my promise to you." Ezekiel nodded. Mollie hesitated for a moment before wrapping her arms around the King. It took him aback, but he hugged her back. They stood their for a few moments, until she pulled away.

"I'll leave you to finish up." He said. "I'll be waiting at the front gates." She nodded, watching him leave before looking around the room. With a sigh, she collected a few of the pictures and a few of the drawings before zipping up her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. She started making her way towards the gates, but she stopped when she reached the entrance to the Royal Gardens. Everything had been pulled and burned, leaving empty beds of soil in their place. And then, directly in the center, Mollie saw it. She choked up, staring down the small wooden grave marker before letting out a shaky breath and walking to into the gardens.

She shrugged her bag off, letting it drop on the concrete near the entrance before taking slow steps towards the back. She sunk to her knees in the dirt, a shaky hand reaching and resting on the mound in front of her.

"Fuck." Her head hung as she tried to stop herself from crying. "God this isn't fair. You weren't...you weren't supposed to die like this. There was so much I still had to tell you, so much that I..." She sighed again. "It's not important, not anymore. I just...I dunno. I miss you. A lot. And I know you wouldn't want me just sitting in bed for the rest of my life. I'm going to Alexandria, and I'm going to help them fight the Saviors. We joined the fight already, and we helped save Alexandria, but the war is far from over. I..." She sighed again.

"I can't stop thinking about this quote from some book you made me read one time. I don't even remember what's it's called, but I remember the line." Her hand shifted in the dirt. "Honeyed rays of golden light, deliver my spirit." Bringing her other hand to her face, she wiped the stray tears that had begun to fall. "I love you, Ben. Thank you." She pulled her hand back, beginning to wipe the dirt off when two green sprigs appearing in the middle of her hand print made her stop. She watched as the sprigs grew quickly, one taller than the other, before the buds on each blossomed into golden Daylilies. A smile quickly ghosted across her face as she pushed herself to her feet and made her way back to the entrance.

As she picked up her bag she glanced back, the lilies swaying together in the breeze. The walk to the front gate felt like it took forever. Standing there was Ezekiel, Carol, and Jerry-though Jerry also looked like he was ready to head out.

"Hey." Mollie breathed out as she reached him. "Where you goin'?"

"I'm your personal Royal escort." Jerry smiled. "Just a precaution, you know."

"And what about you? Who's gonna cover your ass while you come home?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Jesus is." Ezekiel answered. "He told me when we last met he had things to talk about with me, so once I learned this was your plan, I invited him. Jerry will retrieve him from Alexandria when you both arrive." Mollie nodded, turning back to take in the Kingdom. People were bustling about, going about their days as if this war wasn't even happening. She sighed, turning back to face the three.

"Okay. Let's go."