An Honest Accident

Solo or RP Format
Counts as 5 RP growth Points
Solo word minimum is 750, RP post minimum is 7

Sometimes, accidents happen. Your character has found themself in a situation where an honest accident has resulted in an item being broken. Possibly your own, or you may have broken someone else's. Was it an item at a shop, or a priceless artifact? How does your character react to the honest mistake?

Going about her day to day activities was becoming frustratingly difficult for Constynce. Her pregnancy was progressing smoothly, the babies reportedly growing healthy and strong, and she was grateful as could be. Despite that, it still came the usual suspects; body aches, nausea, heartburn, a tiny foot jabbed in her ribs, a belly swollen with twins throwing off her balance... Her mind told her to keep moving, but her body just wanted to find a soft place to lie down and rest. Of course, lying down wasn’t always comfortable either. When her body allowed, she preferred spending time in the garden with her fingers in the ground. Hopefully the babies would love gardening as much as she does. Or perhaps they would turn out more like their father?

That sent a pang through her chest. Tryston was still off in Zena dealing with the latest threat to the brotherhood, and she had no idea if he would be able to return in time to see the babies born… It added to the aches of her body, wishing he was there with her and wondering if he was safe. All the more reason to spend her days out in the garden. Helpfully, her grandparents made a point of leaving tasks that she could safely work on, and often requested specific tasks.

Today, she was clearing the weeds from a section that had been waiting on new seeds. “Oh, my darlings… It’s getting difficult to work around you,” she mused with a chuckle at her very pregnant belly. She had to garden at an angle to see the ground where she was pulling! She leaned back onto her heels for a break when she heard her grandmother gasp with shock. She went to jump up, but just ended up flopping onto her hip. “Grandmother? Are you alright?”

“The poinscuas..” the elder woman groaned with dismay. Once she was closer, Galadria pointed down at the neon blue, spikey leaves that were mow lying on the ground. “Why are you pulling my poinscuas up?”

“Poinscuas?” Constynce blinked a couple times, looking between the plants and her grandmother. She had never heard the name before. What sort of plant was this? “Wait. You told me to pull these.” She frowned as she reached into one of her skirt pockets for the paper with her list of gardening tasks. “See? Weed out the new planter ground of section thirty-six.”

Galadria plucked up the list in her weathered fingers and looked it over. She let out another heavy sigh and closed her eyes as she held the paper back out. “Constynce, that is a five, not a three.”

A sinking feeling settled in her chest as she accepted the paper back to look it over. And there it was… Goodness, her grandmother’s handwriting was getting shaky… “Then.. what did I pull?” Constynce looked down at the plants with wide eyes. “I’ve never seen the likes of them before, and I don’t recognize the name.”

The elder woman shook her head and slowly bent to tenderly pick up one of the floundering plants. “Poinscuas. They’re very rare. I had them ordered from Oba. They cost me quite a bit of gold to ensure they were quality.” Her lips pressed a little with thought. “I saw them in the market last year on some traveling merchant. I thought they were so lovely…”

Tears driven by honest regret and hormonal magnification welled in her eyes. “Oh grandmother, I am so sorry! It was an accident, truly. I had no idea and I thought I was helping but I did not read your directions properly and now I have ruined everything!” she wailed pitifully. Her hands rose to wipe at her face, leaving long streaks of tear-dampened earth over her cheeks.

Galadria was taken aback by Constynce’s reaction. While she was upset to see the state of her treasures, she certainly hadn’t expected her granddaughter to react in such a way! She glanced at the distended belly carrying her great-grandchildren. She could still remember her own pregnancy after so many years… “Now, now. That’s quite unnecessary. These poinscuas may be rare, but they are supposed to be hearty as well.” The usually stern woman allowed a small but encouraging smile to rise. “Let’s replant them. Together?”

Constynce bawled a few more moments before she could stifle the tears. “Do you.. Do you truly think it will be okay?” Once she received the nod of assurance, she wiped her face again and turned to the plants. “I am sorry for disturbing you, poinscuas, but I will make it right.” It didn’t take them long to get the plants back into place. She was beyond relieved to see the plants apparently settle back into place and be spared the pain of further disappointment during an already rough time.

Word count: 805