A Rose Lost In Grief

She was Lady Drosera d'Almaine, wife of the honoured knight, Sir Dane d'Almaine.

And upon exiting the chapel that was designed into the gatehouse of Moonveil Castle, her husband's strung-up body on the pole in a shell of ice was the first thing she had seen.

Lady Karina's head jerked up from her pillow when she heard a horrified scream from her fourth-floor bower. Instinctively, she barged out of her chambers and raced down two flights of stairs to the second floor.

She bolted from the entry and down the wooden stairs before she realised what she had done.

By then, it was already too late; she carefully observed the women departing from the chapel and saw Lady Drosera on her knees as the base of the pole her husband's corpse was strung up on.

Lady Karina immediately hastened towards the despairing woman.

The few serving women and chef followed suit after Lady Karina, who sobbed as she ran to Lady Drosera's side. The woman was hysterical as she clutched onto the pole upon which her husband was impaled and her tears released uncontrollably.

Lady Karina fell to her knees beside the petite brunette, bringing the lady into her arms.

"Rose," she whispered firmly in the lady's ear. "You must come with me now. Come away with me, darling."

The tiny brunette, only a few inches taller than Lady Karina herself, and with big, rounded hazel eyes sobbed for dear life. She clutched at the wood with surprising strength, reaching up to touch her husband's boot just where the black frost had melted and then jerked her hand back in horror.

"My sweet Dane," she bawled, her chest tightening with grief. "Why him? What did he do to deserve this terrible fate?"

Lady Karina tried to pull the woman to her feet, fearful of what Van Merikh would do when he learnt that she had violated his directive to remain within the keep at the first opportunity that arrived.

More than that, she was afraid of what sort of punishment he would bring upon Lady Drosera.

"Drosera," Lady Karina uttered, almost sternly. "Our lives are no longer in our hands and the longer we remain here, the more we jeopardise our survival. Please, darling, you must get up and walk away from here with me."

Lady Drosera was incapable of answering.

It took all of Lady Karina's meagre strength to bring the lady to her feet. Even then, the stubborn Drosera rushed at the pole, embracing her husband's lower legs as she did so.

Lady Karina tugged at her arm, but the lady held fast.

"My sweet darling..." Lady Drosera wept. "My son...now my husband. I would beg God to drag me to them... I cannot live such a life without them in it!"

In the moment of her emotional release, Lady Drosera's right cheek lit up and a pink tulip marking blossomed on her cheek, shining with soft gold energy.

Lady Karina's eyes, glossy with tears, widened with fear. She glanced around in panic and gave a few more tugs, finally managing to disengage Lady Drosera.

"No…no…Shield your mark away again, you pitiful soul." Lady Karina mumbled, urging her dear friend to suppress the visibility of her magical mark before Van Merikh and his men spotted it.

Seeing that Lady Drosera was too far gone to worry about exposing their magic, Lady Karina gently touched the lady's cheek, using some of her own magic to force the mark to vanish.

The lady clung to her, nearly pulling Lady Karina to the ground as she struggled to walk for both of them.

There were dead knights scattered everywhere and Lady Karina forced her gaze to avoid looking at them, focusing on keeping her head down and her feet moving forward.

But Lady Drosera was very much like dead weight.

As they reached the wooden steps, Lady Karina caught sight of black soft leather boots from the corner of her eye. And when she dared to glance up, she immediately sighted Van Merikh standing at the base of the stairs.

His expression was cold and hard, just as it was the first time she had ever seen him. But she knew very well that it was just the calm before the storm; she had disobeyed him and left the keep.

Lady Karina wanted to explain herself before he decided to freeze her head off her shoulders.

"Forgive me, my Lord," Lady Karina apologised as they neared the stairs. "I heard the lady screaming and only intended to offer help. I swear it on my father that I did not spitefully disobey your order."

Van Merikh didn't answer her; in fact, he stood there in stone-cold silence as she practically lifted Lady Drosera onto the steps, ascending one at a time into the keep.

Once they were inside, Lady Drosera collapsed on the floor and dragged Lady Karina down with her.

"I will not live... I cannot live," Lady Drosera said mournfully. "What purpose does my life hold now? My handsome boy... my sweet husband... I wish to die."

Lady Karina had forced herself up, feeling a jab in her chest from the lady's despairing words. She moved up on her hands and knees, stroking the side of Lady Drosera's head.

"Nay, darling," she murmured. "Sir Dane would not allow you to speak so. You must live on, even if for no other reason than a tribute to his memory. You must show us the strong lady that you are...show us the Rose that he loved so dearly."

Lady Drosera did not hear a word for she was far too consumed by her grief.

As Lady Karina stroked the woman's hair, a pale serving girl came up behind her.

"Shall I lend you a hand to help her up the stairs, milady?" The girl murmured in her ear.

Lady Karina nodded. "Thank you, Kairie." She took hold of Lady Drosera's right arm. "Move to her other side; perhaps we can lift her between us."

It was no doubt a painful labour ahead.

Kairie was no bigger than a child herself and lifting Lady Drosera was no easy feat. With Lady Karina on the opposite side, they could barely just lift her to her knees.

The lady was stubborn and refused to be lifted further.

As they pleaded with Lady Drosera, Van Merikh stood by the entry and observed the scene. He caught Lyall's gaze out of the corner of his eye; the man was in the archway leading into the Great Hall.

He had heard the screams as well.

With a sharp, perhaps reluctant, nod of his head, Van Merikh sent a silent signal to his knight.

After all, he had heard Lady Drosera's wish for death very clearly.