He's Gone - The Next Day.
Stirring early the next morning, Clarisse stretched her arm out across to the other side of the bed, intending to snuggle close to her love. But he wasn't there, his side of the bed was empty. And cold. Lifting her head from her pillow, she slowly opened her eyes to find a single red rose sitting on his pillow with a note, her name written on the top of it in his usual lilting handwriting.
Pushing herself up onto her elbow, Clarisse glanced around the room as she unfolded the note. Deep in her heart she knew what it was already going to say, and there was a moment of anxiety, a moment where she took a deep breath before she read what he had written. "I'm sorry I didn't wake you to say goodbye, but it's better this way. Besides, you looked so peaceful sleeping that I didn't want to disturb you! Always yours X."
Blinking away her tears, she fell back onto the bed and covered her face with her arm as she cried. She felt empty inside, her heart had shattered into a million pieces but she knew it was her own fault. She was the one who wanted to end things between them, to concentrate on the person, the Queen she's meant to be after being caught together over the weekend, but it didn't make it any easier. The man she loved with all her heart had gone. He had left the palace because of her and she had absolutely no idea if she would ever see him again.
Pulling herself from the bed, his bed, Clarisse moved to momentarily sit on the edge as she wiped her tears away from her face before rising to her feet and starting to dress, the memory of them making love the previous night come to the forefront of her mind. The first time was fast, intense and fiery, and the second, after talking silly nonsense lovers talk about in the dark, was slow, tender and gentle. But oh so delicious and full of passion.
After getting dressed Clarisse slipped the note Joseph had left for her on his pillow into one of her trouser pockets, before picking up the rose and her shoes, and left his suite to make her way back to her own. Her mind a million miles away as she drifted slowly through the hallway.
Approaching her door moments later, Clarisse put the rose in the hand holding her shoes and reached her now free hand out onto the doorframe. "Mother?" Pierre said softly from behind her and watched as she slowly turned to him. "Are you ok? You're still wearing the clothes you were wearing yesterday."
Looking down at her attire, Clarisse let out out a sigh and looked back up at her eldest son. "Yes I am," she nodded and watched as he briefly averted his gaze down to the rose in her hand before looking back up at her.
"I take it you spent the night with Joseph then," Pierre said somewhat coldly over the thought of his mother and Joseph being intimate together as Clarisse put her free hand up onto her forehead while averting her gaze away from him and down the hallway.
"Yes I did spend the night with Joseph in his suite, but you don't have to worry about it happening again because he's gone now. He left the palace sometime during the night," Clarisse said sadly as she looked back up at her son and lowered her hand, pressing it now to her stomach where a knot had formed. "And, I'm sure you'll be elated to know that we have also decided to end our relationship."
"Oh mother," Pierre said and watched as she shook her head.
"Don't oh mother me," Clarisse said and studied him, "even though you seem to have accepted me and Joseph yesterday with your speech, you never really did, did you?" She said while turning to her door and reached her hand out onto the handle to open it. "Well now you don't need to, do you."
Stepping into her suite and leaving her son stood out in the hallway, Clarisse closed the door up behind her and leant back against it a long moment as she tipped her head back and closed her eyes. In the space of just 12 hours, she had gone from a woman being madly in love to a broken woman, and no matter how much it hurt having to end the relationship she had with Joseph, she still, unfortunately, had a duty to uphold. It was her life and she had to carry on regardless.
"Your majesty," Lydia said from the bedroom doorway and watched as the Queen lifted her head and brushed her tears away before turning her head to look at her. "I brought you breakfast," she said softly, gesturing to the dining table in her suite.
"Thank you, Lydia," Clarisse said as she turned and made her way slowly towards her bedroom door, "however, I'm not feeling hungry right now."
"Of course, your majesty," Lydia said as she stepped to one side and watched the Queen walk into the room and over to her bed. She hadn't been working at the palace for long, but she knew after yesterday's events that the Queen was not herself and wouldn't be for a while. "Did you want me to run you a bath?" She offered.
"Yes, that would be lovely. Thank you, Lydia," Clarisse said as she dropped her shoes down next to her bedside table before turning and falling uncharacteristically back onto the bed. Her legs dangling over the edge.
"Would you like me to use your lavender oils, your majesty," Lydia asked as she studied the Queen lying on her bed. "It will help you relax."
"Yes please," Clarisse replied and raised her hand with the rose in her grasp up above her face, studying it a moment with a sigh before lowering it to her nose and closing her eyes.
"I'll see to it right away, your majesty," Lydia said and curtsied before making her way into the bathroom as Clarisse remained laid on the bed, her eyes still closed, twirling the rose around the tip of her nose.
Sitting on the bonnet of his car, Joseph folded his arms and looked out at the picturesque view in front of him. After leaving the palace earlier that morning, he had driven round for a while to pass some time and try to clear his head before finally deciding where to go. Up on the hill overlooking Genovia and the palace, where he had left Clarisse asleep in his bed.
Sitting at the desk in his suite after getting ready and packing the rest of his clothes that he should have packed last night, Joseph attempted to write a note, and failed, for his one true love. The wastepaper bin beside him was full with screwed up pieces of paper where he had started to write, but just couldn't find the right words.
Slumping back in his chair, his right hand resting on the desk with his pen held firmly in his grasp he looked towards the bedroom door a long moment and thought about the gorgeous woman asleep in his bed. The same bed he had made love to her, not once but twice just last night. The same bed he should still be laid in, holding the woman he loved in his arms. But instead he was out here trying to write this damn note.
Finally, after several moments he found the words for the note and scribbled it out. He knew she would be heartbroken to find the note instead of him, but he felt he really had no choice. He didn't want to see her hurt, because he knew he would never want to leave her if he did.
Folding the paper, he wrote her name on the top of it before standing to his feet and grabbed a single red rose from the vase sitting on his desk. Holding it to his nose, to smell its sweet scent, a scent he would always remind him of her, his Queen, he walked over to the bedroom door where he came to a brief stop, to take in the vision of beauty sleeping in his bed.
She would be awake now, that he knew, and she would have seen the note and red rose he had left for her on his pillow. He really didn't want to leave her without saying a proper goodbye, but knew in his heart that it was better that way. To leave while she was asleep. He wanted the memory of her falling to sleep on his chest after they had made love to be his last, not seeing her crying as he walked away.
Brushing a hand down the side of his face now, trying his best to keep it together, he stood to his feet and took a few steps forward. Getting one, long, last look at the palace and the life he had lived for the last few years before getting in his car and driving away. Heartbroken. Frustrated. That even though it hurt, having to leave the woman he loved, again, he understood her reasons. She was after all a Queen, she had a duty to do and they couldn't jeopardise losing everything she and Rupert had accomplished over the last 25 years just to be together. No matter how much they loved one another.
"Clarisse?" Rupert called out as he entered her suite a little later that morning and closed the door behind himself.
"Yes?" She said as she appeared in her bedroom doorway a moment later in her robe.
"I just see Pierre, he told me what happened between you and Joseph," he said and watched as she walked into the room and over to the chaise lounge while pulling her robe tighter round herself and tying the sash to keep it closed before sitting down. "Are you okay?"
"How do you think I am?" She asked while resting her elbows on her knees and clasped her hands together in front of her.
"You're right, that was a silly question," Rupert said as he slipped his hands in his pants pockets and moved a bit closer to her, "I'm sorry."
"It's fine," Clarisse said as she glanced down at her hands before looking back up at him, "in fact I'll be down in my office once I'm dressed, if you need any help with paperwork."
"I don't think so, not today," Rupert said with a shake of his head, "you're not meant to be here today, well not until later at least, so please take this day off as planned. Stay in bed, catch up with your sleep. Or read. Honestly, I have everything covered."
"Rupert please, if I take the day off as originally planned it would give me time to think about things…. about him. And I don't want to do that right now. I want to keep busy," Clarisse said sincerely.
"Avoiding it won't help, Clarisse, you know that," Rupert said softly as a knock came to her door. "It'll just make things worse for you later on, keeping it all bottled up."
"That'll be Sabrina," she said, dismissing his words as she looked over at the door. "Come in." She called out.
"It's just me," Sabrina said as she opened the door and stepped in the room to find Rupert stood a few feet away from Clarisse sitting on her chaise lounge, "oh I'm sorry, I didn't realise that you were here," she said and looked to her friend. "Shall I come back later?"
"No, it's okay. You can stay," Clarisse said as she stood to her feet and looked to her husband, as he looked back over at her, "Rupert was just leaving, weren't you?"
"Yes, that's right I was," Rupert nodded and glanced back over to Sabrina, before looking back to Clarisse and stepped closer to her, closing the distance between them. "Remember what I said, take the day off and rest."
"No, I'll be fine," Clarisse said firmly and briefly closed her eyes as he leant closer and kissed the side of her head. "I'll be down shortly."
"Very well," Rupert said and made his way over to the door, "see you both later then."
"You will," Sabrina said and walked over to Clarisse as Rupert left and closed the door behind him. "What was that all about?"
"Oh, he thinks that I should take the day off," Clarisse said as she began to slowly make her way over to her bedroom door.
"Well technically you're not meant to be here now, so why don't you take the day off? We could go to lunch," Sabrina said as she followed her friend into her bedroom. "Have the martinis we were meant to have had last night?"
"What do you mean?" Clarisse asked as she stopped by her bed and turned to her.
"Well we were meant to rendezvous for martinis after your meeting with Rupert and your lawyer," Sabrina said and watched Clarisse let out a sigh before sitting down on the edge of her bed. "But you never came."
"I'm sorry, I completely forgot," Clarisse said sadly, "I ended up going and spending the night with Joseph in his suite."
"Oh that's fine, he told us that he was leaving for a while and is using my ticket to fly to London with Harry," Sabrina smirked, "so its understandable you spent the night together," she said, but noticed something wasn't quite right with her friend. "What's happened?" she asked.
"Joseph and I… we, uh," she said, having trouble saying the words she needed to say as Sabrina moved closer to her. "We've ended things between us."
"Oh no darling, I'm so sorry," she said softly and moved to sit next to her on the bed.
"It is what it is," Clarisse said and chewed on her lip, to stop herself from crying. She wanted to talk to her friend about it, but she wasn't sure she would be able to get the words out without the tears spilling over.
"What happened," Sabrina asked as she wrapped her arm around her shoulder and placed her hand on her back, "you were both so happy."
"We were yes, but I was forgetting who I am, who I'm meant to be and I had to put a stop to it now before it got to out of hand," Clarisse said and put a hand up to cover her mouth, suppressing a sob. Her heart still felt odd, as if it were physically damaged in some way or no longer functioned as efficiently. "We may have got away with it this weekend, but next time we might not be so lucky and I couldn't risk getting caught again."
"I understand, and I'm so sorry it had to come to this," Sabrina said softly as she pulled her friend closer, to give her a hug as she rested her head on her shoulder. "How did Joe take it?"
"Not great, but he understood," Clarisse replied as she brushed away her tears. "It all happened so quickly though, one minute we were arguing over if its what I really wanted, which of course it isn't but I have no choice, and the next we were," she gasped while lifting her head to look at her friend. "Making love." She said, her voice barely a whisper as she covered her mouth with her hands. The realisation dawning on her that in their haste to be together last night they hadn't used protection.
"What? What was that gasp for?" Sabrina asked wearily and studied her friend. "Why do I get a feeling you're about to tell me you didn't... You didn't use protection did you?" She asked, reading her like a book.
"No, we didn't," Clarisse said with a small shake of her head and covered her face with her hands a brief moment before looking back at her friend.
"Oh Clarisse, and after what I said to you on Friday too," Sabrina said as Clarisse rose to her feet and wandered over to the balcony doors while folding her arms round herself.
"I know, but it all happened so quickly, it never even crossed my mind to use protection," Clarisse said solemnly and turned back to Sabrina still sitting on the bed as she spoke.
"Nor his evidently," Sabrina said as she put her hands down on the bed either side of her legs.
"But it's fine, it's okay," Clarisse nodded, "although it's still possible even at my age, it's only a small concern so I'm not going to worry to much over it."
"I know, but it could still happen," Sabrina said as she watched her friend move across the room to sit at her dressing table. "You know that," she said and watched as she sighed.
"I know it can," Clarisse nodded and looked down at her hands resting in her lap, reflecting on what had happened the last time they didn't use protection as time seemed to stand still for a moment. "It's silly isn't it? You would have thought I would have learned my lesson after the last time," she said as she stared across the room, as if in a daze, before looking back at her friend.
"Yes, but I suppose these things happen when you get caught up in the heat of the moment," Sabrina said and watched as Clarisse nodded while looking back down at her hands, "anyway, how did it go with Joe this morning when you woke up?"
"It didn't, I woke up alone," Clarisse said as she looked back up. "He left sometime during the night, left a note on his pillow with a rose for me."
"Oh, so he actually never said a proper goodbye?" Sabrina asked sadly and watched as Clarisse shook her head.
"No, he never," Clarisse replied and looked across at Sabrina as tears welled in her eyes at that thought, and the idea she might not see him again.