It was a windy day in Ireland. It had it's usually cloudiness that created a fitting atmosphere for the day's event. It had been two weeks since the party and it had been the longest time of Maura's life. The funeral had been postponed because Patty wished to have as many people in attendance. But those who knew Patty knew he was in denial and didn't want to suffer the terrible truth. The love of his life was dead. He was now left a widower and had his daughter motherless, and he had no idea what to do. At first Patty seemed to experience shock of Hope's death but as the days of the funeral came closer he had shown heavy signs depression. He would block out all and everything around him and would just sit in his room for hours on end only leaving to spend time with Maura. Maura had been experienced similar symptoms of her mother's passing as her father had. She would wake up every morning thinking the past events were only but a horrible nightmare but would soon realize that it was reality. She noticed the changes in her father's demeanor and had no idea of how to console him. Throughout the day Maura would try to occupy her mind in order to try to forget the tragedy that had hit her family. She could not read her books because that would remind her of Ms. Thompson and evidently her mother. Ms. Thompson's funeral had been a week prior. Her family had wished for a quick and private ceremony which her family, the Doyle's, and other servants of the castle were in attendance. All parts of the castle were a passing memory that would create the feelings of both happiness and loss. Maura did not discuss her feelings to anyone even her father. She had not engaged in conversation besides the little requests to go to the safe haven of her room. Many times when she was in the solace in her room she would stare out her window at the landscape of Ireland that she treaded along with her mother many times throughout her young life. Now Maura would never be able to have those times again with her mother. Many times her father wished to stay close to her in order to remind him of what he still had. Most activities together consisted of sitting on the grassy land and staring off at the lake and watching the sun set. No words were exchanged but they had both experienced this with Hope when she was alive but never them two together. It was a silent ritual they would have in order to uphold a memory of Hope. It created closeness for the other even if their minds were miles and miles apart.
So here was Maura in her bedroom looking at herself in the mirror. One of the maids, Elsa, assisted her in putting on her attire for the funeral. The maid was adjusting the corset that created pleasurable pain for the girl who had been numb for the past couple of days. Maura looked at her face in the mirror and saw what she was hiding from the others. The last time she looked at this mirror she saw a vibrant, confident, beautiful girl that didn't have a care in the world; now she looked at her appearance and did not recognize herself. Her face had seemed to pale of that resembling a ghost, she had dark circles under her eyes from the lack of sleep she had been receiving in recent nights, her hair had lacked the usual glow that it would be normally there. Her hazel eyes had become almost dead and lacked its usual spark it held. She was now wearing her dress that was completely black exposing what her feelings were in her heart. Now she had to put on her mask in order to get her through the events of today.
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The weather had continued being bleak and chilly. It was the usual weather for Ireland but it felt different today. It's like Ireland knew that it was Hope's funeral and it was experiencing sadness as well. The procession started as immediate family and close friends are present for the ceremony. Father Brighton was doing the ceremony since he had always been involved in the Doyle's lives with Patty and Hope's marriage and Maura's baptism that it seemed appropriate to do Hope's funeral. The trumpets sounds which introduced the bag pipes. Maura sat with her father in the front of the precession as the ceremony begun. Hope's final resting place was to be in a beautiful coffin made of glass and it was carried to the front by the Royal Guards as the audience took a knee out of respect for the late queen.
The priest asked for everyone to rise and began the ceremony. It was a beautiful sermon for anyone who was there but it all went to deaf ears to the deceased one's daughter. Maura was having a difficult time concentrating on the ceremony and was looking around her. While observing, Maura realized the amount of people who had shown up for her mother's funeral both of the elite group and peasants. It helped Maura see that people of all walks of life loved and respected her mother. It made it all real. Maura looked amongst the vast field the funeral was taking place and it was full of memories of Maura and her mother. She failed to notice that Father Brighton was finished with his portion of the ceremony and people began to walk toward the coffin and place a flower onto it saying their respects and goodbyes. The many faces of individuals who were truly touched by Hope and her life were evident and were becoming too much for Maura. She suddenly went to walk up to the coffin and near her mother. When she saw her she gasped. She had not seen her since that terrible night and this made it official. She felt the tears begin to run down her face and it was difficult to breathe. So many emotions were running in her mind and heart which became too much to bear. She didn't realize immediately but her legs were quickly fleeing the scene that was causing her so much distress, so much pain. She was running toward the castle and into the safety of her sanctuary as she was breaking down from recent events.
She wasn't even thinking while she was running but was going only based off of memory. She finally reached the corridor of her room. Tears were running down her face and it was making it difficult to see. She did not see the obstacle in her way until she had hit it head on causing them to fall slightly. Arms outstretched before she could hit the ground and was holding her up. Maura had no idea who these arms belonged to but she needed comfort even from someone she didn't know. She continued to sob and rested her head on their shoulder finding something to ground her. The arms pulled her in closer and began to rub circles on her back trying to console her. After a couple minutes of this Maura finally came back to reality and realized what she had done. Embarrassed by her sudden attack and outburst on a complete stranger, she is unable to reach their eyes. 'I'm sorry' she chokes back a sob rose up and ran to her room slamming the door behind her. She jumps on her bed as she tries to hide from the evil of this world. While reaching to grab for her pillow she feels a foreign object on her bed. She looks up to see it was a deep purple flower that was attached to a piece of parchment. Curiosity winning her over Maura grabbed the piece of paper and opened it to view its contents:
Through the darkness of this night
There will always be the sun that shines so bright
Missing those who we wish to seek
Will see them again at heaven's peak
From the time of now to then
We should fulfill our lives until the very end
These are some comforting words throughout your time of grief. It may not be sudden and it may not be easy but it is possible. It takes the strongest of hearts to lose those you love and live on. Be the proof that someone can overcome loss and continue to live their lives.
Someone who cares
Maura continues to look at the poem/message that someone had written for her. It completely shocked her that someone would do this to help her. Many people offered there condolence but it was different because someone worked hard to write something so personal for her. A slight smile appeared on Maura's lips and it gave a wave of relief to her small body. She breathes in and out slowly and was analyzing all the new information. Maybe I'm not as alone as I thought.
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On the other side of the door was the stranger who wrote the note was listening at the door. They were surprised that they bumped into the girl who they had just left the letter and flower in their room and were even more shocked to have the girl breaking down and reaching consolidation in their arms. I hope it has helped. They thought as they are standing there. "It was wonderful seeing you again but I wished under better circumstances" they said in a whisper. "I am so sorry for your loss and I hope my words have brought you some comfort. Until next time your highness." And with that they turned around, left the castle, and return to the real world outside.
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Ok here is chapter 7 and I hope I did okay. I realize not a lot occurred in this chapter but it was a very emotional part and I thought that was too than important to add more scenes to it. It just felt weird because it was on the shorter side. Well I hope you liked it and until next time!