THE ROMANTICIST | C. GRIMES

03 | CHAPTER ONE

Mollie stood in the Royal Gardens, a frown on her face as she looked down at the bed of dead plants she'd be removing today. Nabila was already at work behind her, having cleared out two beds before Mollie even showed up. She reached into her back pocket, pulling on the new gloves she'd gotten after losing another pair.

"How will we ever regrow all of this?" Mollie sighed, turning back to look at Nabila.

"Hard work, and faith." Nabila said, looking back at her. "So get to it." Mollie returned Nabila's smile, nodding and turning around. Just as she was about to kneel down and get to work, the sharpest, hardest pain hit her thigh. Unable to help it she let out a cry of pain as her legs buckled and she hit the pavement.

"Mollie! Oh my god, Mollie are you okay?!" Mollie could hear Nabila's voice to her right as her vision began to get blurry, the pain only increasing by the second. The blurry world began to spin, and she could just make out Nabila's face coming over her before it all went black.

--

The soft buzzing of fluorescent lights. Distant, quiet talking. The feeling of a breeze coming through an open window. Mollie's head was pounding, one long, continuous rhythm. She tried cracking open her eyes, but the light was too bright.

"Mollie?" It was Ezekiel's voice, though not his royal voice. "Can you hear me?" She felt his hand slip into hers. "Squeeze my hand if you can hear me." It took her a moment, but she was able to squeeze his hand. "Good. Good." She tried opening her eyes again, this time slower, and was able to adjust enough to where she could turn to look at Ezekiel. She was immediately taken aback at the look on his face. Indescribable sadness.

"What happened?" Her voice was rough and scratchy. Ezekiel sat with her words for a moment.

"Nabila says you two were tending the garden, and you suddenly collapsed." Ezekiel's voice was wavering. "Do you remember anything?"

"N-not a lot." It worried Mollie how spotty her memory felt. "I was reading, and then I said goodbye to Ben because he was going out on patrol, and then I went to the gardens. After that I...I dunno." She looked around the room, realizing what was missing. "Where is he?" She turned back to Ezekiel. "Where's Ben?" Ezekiel didn't speak, and he didn't look her in the eyes, instead aiming them down at the bed. Mollie could feel his hand begin to shake. "Ezekiel. What happened?"

"I..." Ezekiel's voice broke, and his hand tightened around Mollie's. "He...he was killed, by the Saviors. That was...two days ago."

"What?" Mollie's voice barely came out a whisper, tears already blurring her vision. "No, no that's not possible. That's not true, he's not dead. He can't be. You're lying."

"Mollie-"

"No." Mollie ripped her hand out of Ezekiel's. "No, no, no. Y-You're lying, you have to be lying. He's not dead."

"Yes, he is." Ezekiel was obviously trying as hard as he could to keep it together for her. "Mollie, I was there. I buried him." A small cry left Mollie's mouth as she clapped her hands over her face. "I'm sorry. He's gone." That was all it took for the tears to finally start flowing. And they wouldn't stop. Not while the doctor checked her over, not while Ezekiel took her to visit Ben's grave where the Royal Gardens once were. Not while she reunited with Henry. And not for the following week that she sat in bed, unable to bring herself to move.

The bouquet of daisies Ben had given her the day before he died were wilted, dead petals now scattered across the dresser top where it sat. Polaroids of Ben's smiling face had been overturned. Drawings of him scattered across the floor, some ripped. The curtains that were usually thrown open had been pulled shut. The knock at the door told Mollie what she needed to know, Ezekiel was coming for his daily visit.

"Mollie?" Ezekiel stepped inside, now knowing it was better to leave the light off. "I have something important to speak with you about."

"What?" From somewhere in the mass of blankets on Mollie's bed came her voice.

"I was a fool to think peace could last. I see that now." Ezekiel said as he walked over, sitting down on the side of her bed. "Carol has returned to us, and she is helping me prepare our people to fight the Saviors." The blanket mass stirred, and Mollie's face finally emerged. It was the first time Ezekiel had actually seen her in days. Even in the light he could see the darkness under her eyes. "We will join Rick in his fight, like we should have from the beginning. If only I'd listened to...to him."

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"Yes, I am." He nodded.

"Then I'm coming too." She pushed the blankets away, sitting fully up. Ezekiel looked back at her, and they watched each other for a few moments. "I'm coming."

"Okay." Ezekiel nodded. "We leave in the morning, straight for Alexandria."

"Okay." She nodded. Ezekiel reached his hand out, and after a few moments she took it.

"We will get through this together."