Garden of the Heart

by sapphire-stephy

Garden of the Heart" is a WIP. I am not sure what turns the story is going to take. At the present time, I am exploring Clarisse a year after her beloved son, Philippe, has passed away.

4. Part Four

Clarisse sat there weeping. She couldn't believe the thought and care that Charlotte had put into this place. She had been afraid of returning to the garden.It her mind, she assumed the garden would have fallen to pieces after a year's neglet. However,Charlotte had turned it into a beautiful place of memory.

She hadn't noticed that the doors behind herhad flung open. The rain started to fall upon her back. Gradually, the rain began to drench her hair and her body. A chill ran through her body. She didn't notice it however, she just sat there weeping. Her heart was still aching for her son.

Suddenly the lights went out. The storm had grown worse and the power was knocked out. Her eyes had been closed when the power went out, so she was startled by it when she opened them. Turning around she couldn't see a thing. Had this not been her special place, she might have been scared.

Kissing the picture through the darkness, Clarisse stood to go back to the palace. The maids would have a fire and candles going in her room already. She walked through the greenhouse's door out into the storm. The rain pelted her face and mixed with her tears. She was chilled inside and out.

Walking along the soggy ground, Clarisse could feel the soil giving way each step. She started to gain a little sight from the moonlight. However, it was clouded a bit by her continuing tears. There was just something inside her that wouldn't turn off.

Clarisse turned to go toward the palace. As she took a step, she felt the ground sink beneath her and heard a loud snap. Instantly she was laying face first in the mud. She felt something warmtricklingupher arm. The painful sensation in her ankle wasn't as bad as her realization that the fall had broken the picture frame. The glass had sliced Clarisse's palm.

Her ankle was broken, she couldn't possibly walk back to the palace now. However, she tried. Using both her hands, she painfully tried to stand. As the earth dug into her wound, Clarisse cried out in pain. She was cold, tired, dizzy, and within a few seconds she blacked out...