WHO: Briseis and OPEN WHAT: Grieving in private WHEN: After she talks to Maedhros (backdated to 6-1) WHERE: In the park WARNINGS: Talk of death, possible talk of rape STATUS: Open/Ongoing
After Briseis had stopped texting Maedhros, she had started to head upstairs to make sure everything was straightened up enough for company. But as she started up the stairs, the memories caught her by surprise, and she collapsed to the stairs in tears. The past few months had been the best of her life, and she had grown and learned so much about herself that she had never known before. She had come to take control of her own body, to find confidence in herself, to take her autonomy back with a passion and a fervor that made her feel strong and empowered again. Because of Imrahil, she had found herself again, and had pushed back the frightened little girl who had been battered and abused. She would always be there, of course, but she had learned to be strong enough to contain her, to face the world again after all that she had suffered.
And now he was gone.
Struck down, like an animal in the street.
And she could not even publicly grieve.
Their affair had been a private thing, something they had both enjoyed, but something that they had agreed that they would never share. He was married, and his daughter was still here, and although she had caught them once, there was no need to remind her of that day when she herself was grieving too. But in a moment of self-pity, Briseis could not help but think that while LothÃriel had her husband, his sister, and her cousin to help her through her grief, Briseis had no one. She was, once again, entirely alone.
And she could not face the upstairs, the last place she had seen him, just yet.
She hurried down the stairs and into the cool evening, taking a deep breath that did nothing to stop the burning tears in her eyes. She began to walk, aimlessly, until she reached the park. Finding a bench not far from the pond, she sat, and buried her face in her hands. Then, the tears came again, harder and more miserable than before, private, bitter tears for a friendship lost, and for a dear friend for whom she could never openly grieve.