"I am a creature of grief and dust and bitter longings. There is an empty place within me where my heart was once"
It was the role of an anchor to hold the ship, the role of a pillar to hold up the roof and the role of Mary Rayleigh to hold up her family, especially when there was a storm. Some storms were mild, some storms were bearable but there were storms that were unbearable and even dangerous, in the presence of all of these, there was a force to be reckoned with when these storms engaged into battle. To be a sufficient force to withstand such storms, such a force must be grounded deep into the foundation or such a force would be weak. It is therefore imperative that such a force is strong, sharp and well grounded, in order to carry out their role. Without an anchor the ship would be lost to the storm, without a pillar the rooftop would fall and the house would come crashing down. Mary had great confidence in her son's abilities but she would remain a strong, sharp and well grounded support in order to aid him.
Sometimes being sharp had the consequence of being sharp-tongued, which had the consequence of not being liked so much, but such did not matter as much as defending her family, for she would do whatever it took. Hearing Lady Stanford's response and the tears that followed, only caused Mary to close her eyes so she would not have to witness the tears that fell, but at the same time she did so in disappointment that she wasn't able to arrive sooner but it could not be helped, so she would simply accept the facts and carry on, just as she had with Francis as she knew that he would not want her to grieve but to carry on. Thinking of such had changed her life from that time on, grieving was more an impossibility than reluctance, but she would remain strong in these times.
The young Elizabeth was such a gentle soul, so innocent, so young, yet, recalling the words of Lady Stanford before her watery display, "it would seem our granddaughter has just passed". There was a reason of course where she did not take kindly to tears in public, first and foremost it tested her when others shed tears yet she would not, secondly tears were a sign of weakness which could not be allowed for one in the role she held, yet it did not mean that she felt nothing even if others may get such an impression as she did feel remorseful for the death of her dear granddaughter, but she would not allow her emotions to get the better of her, she would not and could not, and certainly should not.
Just as she had back in Rigby Hall, she remained silent, her head bowed to be respectful, remaining strong but poised in the testing waves that had come crashing down in the heart of Seabel and in the hearts of those within for such a young life to be taken from them. Her eyes looked up as Harriet came from Lizzie's room and straight into the arms of her mother. It was clear by her face when Harriet's eyes locked with her own of how her emotions had gotten the best of her, but such was the love of a mother. However, from what Mary had gathered as she had stood outside with Lady Stanford and her youngest son, was that her son and Harriet wished for time alone which Mary had hoped was helping them both stand strong, but instead it seemed it was failure with the fact Harriet had came alone and with the words that came out of Harriet's mouth, "Charles will need you", before turning away and leaving, followed by her mother and brother.
What had that....what had she done now? seeing that she had left Charles alone, so she took no time to waste to open the doors and enter Lizzie's room, seeing her son on Lizzie's bed. Mary could remember the times that she had sat on Charles' bed to comfort him, worried about how sick and weak he was. Charles was her world, her first born, so she could understand the pain that Charles and Harriet would be in to lose their first born, even if she did not show it, but she would help them through it. Charles moreso than Harriet of course, seeing that Harriet had appeared to let him grieve alone, as Charles came towards her and hugged her, Mary responding with a hug of her own to comfort him.
"O-oh Mother, Lizzie's d-dead....Harriet hates me...God, t-the entire world has fallen to b-bits", Charles sobbed, before it appeared that some of her strength had passed onto him as he pulled back and asked, "A-are you here because of L-Lizzie...?". "For Lizzie...and for you", Mary responded to him confidently as she took the opportunity to see Lizzie, holding her hand as she sat on her bed, reminding her of the times she was at Charles' side, reminding her of how she used to be. Back in those days she was worried for her son with how ill he looked, feeling that something was terribly wrong, but in the end Charles had grown and now had become a strong man like his father. Unfortunately for Charles and Harriet, their first-born had not been so lucky, the hand she now held should of grown into a strong woman, but alas such was not to be.
There was the option to speak of Lizzie, but right now her son needed her before he could face the facts as she did upon Francis' death. Lizzie had brought much joy and happiness to Charles just as Charles had brought much joy and happiness to her, so she could only imagine the pain they were going through, "Life certainly has a way of rising you up before things come crashing down, but you must be strong, now more than ever", not really words of comfort but were words of strength in her opinion as such was how her life had been. Following her statement, she released Lizzie's hand and stood up, "If there are pieces that have fallen, then they must be picked up and treasured, held together", such that caused her to be distrustful of the Stanfords' since their family had been divided yet there had been no attempt for the family to be rebound together.
However, Mary could not forget that it was Francis' arrangement for Charles to be wed with Harriet, so though she was skeptical then and skeptical now, she felt that she should try her best to accept the situation for Francis' sake. "Harriet is....facing...challenges..of her own right now. These are hard times, but you must endure", holding his arm for her strength to flow through him once more, "If anyone can hold strong in the face of adversity, it is a Rayleigh!", so if Harriet was a true Rayleigh then she would stand by Charles side. There was still the issue of providing a male heir but only time will tell and now was not the time to dwell on such things as she comforted her son.
Mary herself had her testing period when Francis was killed and departed from this world. Here in Seabel, men and women weeped for the loss of the King's eldest daughter, but when Francis died, there were those that rejoiced which made the death even more painful. Instead of giving into grief, she gave into her anger since she was too scarred to let out a single tear, before she fell on her knees and prayed for strength to see her through for she wholeheartedly needed it. It was why she told Charles that if pieces were fallen then they must be held together, for that is what she too had done, for without the head of the family, it was like a trunk of a tree, remove the tree and the branches fall and can no longer stand, requiring them to be picked up and held together, such that Mary had done.
As for Harriet, she didn't exactly meet eye to eye with her, but she had remained at her daughters' side, even if it meant casting away the other lost branch, but such was a trial. When Charles was in his sick-like state, Mary would be around him more than her other children. However, when Francis was executed, the same shock that had ran through Francis when the axe made contact with his skin, was the same shock that had ran through Mary to drain her of what she once was, before she came to the understanding that now Francis was gone, her children needed her now more than ever and she would fulfill that role to a tee.
There was more that Mary could say to her son, but she felt that the essence of what she wished to convey to him was accomplished. There was no need to remind him of the past when he had been by her and had agreed to rise against the Lancaster's. A Rayleigh was worth thousands of Lancaster's, but she believed that her son would overcome this and had the strength to overcome this, just as he had the strength to pull away from her. The question was, would Harriet succeed? but first, it was time to say farewell to Lizzie as she looked up to her son, "You warriors stand tall on the battlefield, but it is time to go to a different plane, to be..a prayer warrior, for on our knees, we are stronger than trees, which is the only chance I get at being taller than you", trying her hand at amusement with a thin smile, before she adjusted herself so that she was by Charles' side and then offering her hand, "Will you join me?", she then asked so Charles can join her, preparing herself to pray for her grand-daughter whose smile will be smiling down on them up above, alone with her dear Francis and that even after his death, she was still living upto her duty as a dutiful wife....
Sometimes being sharp had the consequence of being sharp-tongued, which had the consequence of not being liked so much, but such did not matter as much as defending her family, for she would do whatever it took. Hearing Lady Stanford's response and the tears that followed, only caused Mary to close her eyes so she would not have to witness the tears that fell, but at the same time she did so in disappointment that she wasn't able to arrive sooner but it could not be helped, so she would simply accept the facts and carry on, just as she had with Francis as she knew that he would not want her to grieve but to carry on. Thinking of such had changed her life from that time on, grieving was more an impossibility than reluctance, but she would remain strong in these times.
The young Elizabeth was such a gentle soul, so innocent, so young, yet, recalling the words of Lady Stanford before her watery display, "it would seem our granddaughter has just passed". There was a reason of course where she did not take kindly to tears in public, first and foremost it tested her when others shed tears yet she would not, secondly tears were a sign of weakness which could not be allowed for one in the role she held, yet it did not mean that she felt nothing even if others may get such an impression as she did feel remorseful for the death of her dear granddaughter, but she would not allow her emotions to get the better of her, she would not and could not, and certainly should not.
Just as she had back in Rigby Hall, she remained silent, her head bowed to be respectful, remaining strong but poised in the testing waves that had come crashing down in the heart of Seabel and in the hearts of those within for such a young life to be taken from them. Her eyes looked up as Harriet came from Lizzie's room and straight into the arms of her mother. It was clear by her face when Harriet's eyes locked with her own of how her emotions had gotten the best of her, but such was the love of a mother. However, from what Mary had gathered as she had stood outside with Lady Stanford and her youngest son, was that her son and Harriet wished for time alone which Mary had hoped was helping them both stand strong, but instead it seemed it was failure with the fact Harriet had came alone and with the words that came out of Harriet's mouth, "Charles will need you", before turning away and leaving, followed by her mother and brother.
What had that....what had she done now? seeing that she had left Charles alone, so she took no time to waste to open the doors and enter Lizzie's room, seeing her son on Lizzie's bed. Mary could remember the times that she had sat on Charles' bed to comfort him, worried about how sick and weak he was. Charles was her world, her first born, so she could understand the pain that Charles and Harriet would be in to lose their first born, even if she did not show it, but she would help them through it. Charles moreso than Harriet of course, seeing that Harriet had appeared to let him grieve alone, as Charles came towards her and hugged her, Mary responding with a hug of her own to comfort him.
"O-oh Mother, Lizzie's d-dead....Harriet hates me...God, t-the entire world has fallen to b-bits", Charles sobbed, before it appeared that some of her strength had passed onto him as he pulled back and asked, "A-are you here because of L-Lizzie...?". "For Lizzie...and for you", Mary responded to him confidently as she took the opportunity to see Lizzie, holding her hand as she sat on her bed, reminding her of the times she was at Charles' side, reminding her of how she used to be. Back in those days she was worried for her son with how ill he looked, feeling that something was terribly wrong, but in the end Charles had grown and now had become a strong man like his father. Unfortunately for Charles and Harriet, their first-born had not been so lucky, the hand she now held should of grown into a strong woman, but alas such was not to be.
There was the option to speak of Lizzie, but right now her son needed her before he could face the facts as she did upon Francis' death. Lizzie had brought much joy and happiness to Charles just as Charles had brought much joy and happiness to her, so she could only imagine the pain they were going through, "Life certainly has a way of rising you up before things come crashing down, but you must be strong, now more than ever", not really words of comfort but were words of strength in her opinion as such was how her life had been. Following her statement, she released Lizzie's hand and stood up, "If there are pieces that have fallen, then they must be picked up and treasured, held together", such that caused her to be distrustful of the Stanfords' since their family had been divided yet there had been no attempt for the family to be rebound together.
However, Mary could not forget that it was Francis' arrangement for Charles to be wed with Harriet, so though she was skeptical then and skeptical now, she felt that she should try her best to accept the situation for Francis' sake. "Harriet is....facing...challenges..of her own right now. These are hard times, but you must endure", holding his arm for her strength to flow through him once more, "If anyone can hold strong in the face of adversity, it is a Rayleigh!", so if Harriet was a true Rayleigh then she would stand by Charles side. There was still the issue of providing a male heir but only time will tell and now was not the time to dwell on such things as she comforted her son.
Mary herself had her testing period when Francis was killed and departed from this world. Here in Seabel, men and women weeped for the loss of the King's eldest daughter, but when Francis died, there were those that rejoiced which made the death even more painful. Instead of giving into grief, she gave into her anger since she was too scarred to let out a single tear, before she fell on her knees and prayed for strength to see her through for she wholeheartedly needed it. It was why she told Charles that if pieces were fallen then they must be held together, for that is what she too had done, for without the head of the family, it was like a trunk of a tree, remove the tree and the branches fall and can no longer stand, requiring them to be picked up and held together, such that Mary had done.
As for Harriet, she didn't exactly meet eye to eye with her, but she had remained at her daughters' side, even if it meant casting away the other lost branch, but such was a trial. When Charles was in his sick-like state, Mary would be around him more than her other children. However, when Francis was executed, the same shock that had ran through Francis when the axe made contact with his skin, was the same shock that had ran through Mary to drain her of what she once was, before she came to the understanding that now Francis was gone, her children needed her now more than ever and she would fulfill that role to a tee.
There was more that Mary could say to her son, but she felt that the essence of what she wished to convey to him was accomplished. There was no need to remind him of the past when he had been by her and had agreed to rise against the Lancaster's. A Rayleigh was worth thousands of Lancaster's, but she believed that her son would overcome this and had the strength to overcome this, just as he had the strength to pull away from her. The question was, would Harriet succeed? but first, it was time to say farewell to Lizzie as she looked up to her son, "You warriors stand tall on the battlefield, but it is time to go to a different plane, to be..a prayer warrior, for on our knees, we are stronger than trees, which is the only chance I get at being taller than you", trying her hand at amusement with a thin smile, before she adjusted herself so that she was by Charles' side and then offering her hand, "Will you join me?", she then asked so Charles can join her, preparing herself to pray for her grand-daughter whose smile will be smiling down on them up above, alone with her dear Francis and that even after his death, she was still living upto her duty as a dutiful wife....