The Redeemed Soul [Dorian Gray]

Come With Me

"What?" Rosemary breathed out.

"I love you, Rosemary." He touched her face and pushed the curls falling over her eyes behind her ear. He was grateful to be so close to her and to feel her warmth. He could stay there forever, as long as it was with her.

"I..." She blinked several times, wondering if she was really dreaming.

"It has taken me an awful lot of time to realise that you are my life." He whispered.

"Dorian..."

"You taught me to think for myself. I realise how awful my behaviour has been towards you and I am genuinely sorry for that. I know that I don't deserve your apology but I want you to....No. I need you to know that I love you. I always have."

"It's too late." She shook her head, getting the words out through the lump forming in her throat.

"What?" He asked.

"I'm going to France." She revealed.

Both of them stared at each other, their eyes speaking for them. The sound of the rain started to diminish as the fireplace crackled with life. Rosemary let Dorian go but neither of them spoke.

He was looking at two spots on the carpet, his gaze moving back and forth from them. He was too late. He was a terrible person, a monster even, just like she had told him.

"Dorian." She spoke, realising what was running through his mind. "I'm going to France. My application was accepted."

"I'm sorry."

She did not know what to reply and hence stood up. "Here."

Dorian turned around, seeing her hand forward for him to take. He looked up at her and saw the woman that he was in love with. Her curls were highlighted in the minimum light, her eyes a piercing blue against her deep hair.

"What?" He asked, coming back to reality.

"I'm taking you somewhere."

"Where?"

"Definitely not the docks to kill you." She joked, her mouth twitching into a small smile before she shook her head. "Too soon." She put her hand forward once again and he took it that time.

Rosemary took the house keys and locked the door before the two of them started walking. "Where are we going?" He asked, the cold affecting the both of them.

"Somewhere where I can forgive you." She replied.

"You are not wearing a coat. Why?"

She looked at him and wanted to reveal her feelings as well, but turned away from him, anger engulfing her. She wanted to tell him that she couldn't wear a coat because he would be cold otherwise. She considered him his equal but he...

"We're here." She answered his question as the bells rang in the distance.

He stopped walking looking in front of him. "No."

"Dorian."

"I can't." He shook his head.

"If you want my forgiveness, you'll have to come inside." She said, before walking through the wooden doors into the holy ground of the Church.

She bowed her head down and prayed silently, waiting for him to walk in and join her. Father Emmanuel acknowledged her presence and walked towards her at the same time Dorian walked inside.

Father Emmanuel understood why Rosemary came there that night, almost as similar to when she had confided in him the first time she gave her confession through the stormy night.

"Father." She smiled at him.

"Good evening." He greeted Dorian.

"Good evening." He said.

"Are you ready for your confession?" He asked.

Dorian looked at Rosemary, realising how literal she had meant the forgiveness to be and she only nodded in response. "I forgive you." She told him.

He turned to face the Father. "I'm ready." He nodded.

She waited almost an hour, praying for him to redeem his soul just like she once had. Although both of their mistakes could not be compared, a mistake was a mistake and seeking forgiveness for it did not make anyone inferior.

She was thinking how her life had changed ever since Dorian had come to town. She was not someone who would talk to someone at a party, or even go to a party. She would have never punched Lord Henry if not for her anger blinding her in the heat of the moment. She would never have lied to her brother, not once.

But at the same time, she never would have blushed for the first time. She wouldn't have had the push to submit her painting and send it to France. She never would have known what the giddy feeling and the warmth really felt like.

Father Emmanuel walked into the room, Dorian following him. "Take care, my son." He blessed him. "And stay on the righteous path."

"Thank you, Father." Dorian smiled and Rosemary could definitely see the return of the man that she once knew.

"Thank you, Father." She told him.

"Bless you, dear. May God be with you wherever you go." He blessed her before going on with his work.

Dorian and Rosemary walked out of the church, relieved in different ways. "How are you feeling?" She asked him.

"Thank you." He smiled.

"Now, listen to me for once and stay away from Henry."

"I will never see that man ever again." He promised, making both of them smile. "So..."

"So." She nodded.

"You're leaving."

"France awaits me." She shrugged as both of them made their way to her home, Dorian silent the entire way.

"Rosemary, I really am sorry for my behaviour this past month. I have been completely blind, swayed away into a dark hole by Henry."

"I forgive you." She persisted. "But you need to apologise to Celia as well, assuming that Lord Radley doesn't murder you."

"I did." He said.

"What?"

"I apologised to them for my actions before I found myself on my way to your house."

They had reached the crossroads where they would go on their separate paths. "Thank you once again, Rosemary. And I am gravely sorry to have hurt you-"

"Come with me." She interrupted him.

"What?"

"Come with me. To France."

"Why?"

"For the short time that we know each other, I know you well, Dorian. And I know Henry. He will not let you live in peace."

"But I thought that you hated me."

"I love you." She admitted.

Dorian moved closer to her, cupping her face before pulling her into a kiss. "Come with me." She repeated. "Henry will not let you be and you could use some time away from here."

"I can't." He closed his eyes.

Rosemary couldn't believe her ears but she had expected nothing less. "Then this is goodbye." She stated before the two roads took them on their own travels, Dorian not stopping her from leaving and Rosemary not looking behind.