Remains to be Seen

Chapter One: An Overdue Visit

"Oh isn't it just a brilliantly scrumptious day, Princess Cordelia?"

Throwing her head back Anne spun around and around in the flower field; alas making herself quite dizzy, she fell and burst into a fit of giggles. She threw her lanky limbs so she looked like a starfish and grabbed a bunch of flowers in each hand. Sitting up she put the two handfuls of flowers into a singular bouquet and pulled one of her ribbons out of her hair to tie around the bunch.

In the last few months Anne's hair had turned a light auburn and grown out to right below her collar bones, which framed her freckled face nicely. Marilla had bought a small bundle of fabric and made Anne a new dress for the summer. Now it did NOT have puff sleeves, despite Anne's relentless pleading for such a frill, but it was that lovely shade of robin egg blue which Anne adored, so she loved it—without puff sleeves and all.

Anne pulled the other ribbon out and shook her head to free the tresses from the plain braids. With a mischievous smile she took off, waving the ribbon in her left hand up and down. That is until a gust of wind came bursting through the field, ripping the light blue ribbon out of her grasp.

"NO!" Anne squealed, "Marilla will KILL ME!"

Hopelessly, Anne took off after the ribbon as it flew threw the air. Once she got so close she lunged for it and a gust came through sending the ribbon into the branches and trees of the forest.

"oh dear, what EVER am i going to tell Marilla?"

Defeated Anne walked out of the flower field and turned down the forest path to Green Gables, completely unaware that a certain boy sat on a tree branch in the opposite forest--holding her ribbon.

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Walking through the forest Gilbert heard an exclamation and rushed towards the source. He stopped just shy of running out of the trees when he saw Anne, and was he ever so glad he did. When she fell to the ground laughing , he pulled himself up on a branch so he could see her face.

Man, she's beautiful, he thought to himself as she pulled the second ribbon from her hair.

When the second gust of wind sent her ribbon flying into the trees he was greatly relieved she didn't go after it; since, the ribbon landed on the branch right above him. Plus, he would have had a difficult time explaining why he sat in a tree watching her dance amongst daisies. As she walked off towards Green Gables, Gilbert stood up and snatched the ribbon before it could get blown away again. He sat back down on the branch smiling as he watched the redhead walk into the opposite forest-playing with the ribbon in his hand.

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"Anne! I cannot believe you just lost your hair ribbon! I gave you that ribbon as a gift; you know that ribbon was special to me!" Marilla was furious, "I simply cannot believe it 'just fell out' without you noticing."

"Marilla, I'm so so sor—" Anne was interrupted by a knock at the door.

Marilla gave Anne a 'we're not finished here' look and whisked off to open the door.

"Why, Gilbert! What in the heavens are you doing here?" Marilla stepped aside waving the boy on into the kitchen.

Anne's heart stopped when she heard Marilla say Gilbert's name, why is HE here?

"Oh, well Ms. Cuthbert—"

Marilla cut him off, "Please call me Marilla."

Gilbert smiled, "Well, Marilla," Anne rolled her eyes, "I was walking in the forest when I came across a ribbon. This ribbon looked awfully familiar and then that is when I remembered it was the same ribbon Anne wore to Bash and Mary's wedding. So I thought I ought to come return it to its owner."

Pulling the delicate ribbon from his vest pocket, he smiled over at Anne who slid from her perch on the counter in utter shock.

"Oh, well Gilbert, how fortunate you found it. That ribbon was the very thing Anne and I were just discussing as you arrived, and how it just 'fell out' of her hair. Thank you very much for returning it. Would you please stay for some tea?"

"It was my pleasure. And tea would be very nice before I head home, thank you," Gilbert's gaze kept flickering back to Anne who had stopped at the table, clutching it with white knuckles.

Taking the ribbon from Gilbert, Marilla turned to Anne, "Now, Anne, take the ribbon upstairs and put them away, and then come immediately back down. Tea should be ready when you've finished."

With her head low Anne snatched the ribbon from Marilla and dashed up the stairs. Once in her room Anne let it out, "WHO does he think he is?! Just waltzing in with MY ribbon—yes. Okay I did loose it but that's NOT the point. I haven't seen him in MONTHS. Not since Bash and Mary's wedding, but what does he do? Come barging into MY home, with MY ribbon in his pocket...I do wonder how he found it though."

Anne's back was to her door as she put the ribbons in her bedside drawer, so she hadn't heard the boy walk to the window with a lovely view of Snow Queen and most of Green Gables.

" 'Oh isn't it just a brilliantly scrumptious day, Princess Cordelia?' " Gilbert said in a higher voice trying to impersonate Anne's declaration from earlier.

"AHHH," Anne spun on her heels, "now, what are you doing in MY ROOM?! Wait! What did you just say?"

A smile produced across Gilbert's lips as he repeated the line, but this time as though he's addressing Anne as Princess Cordelia, "I said, isn't it just a brilliantly scrumptious day, Princess Cordelia?"

"How could you—you can't. Wait," multiple emotions danced across Anne's kitten face, which could never hide anything, as she put the pieces together.

"Were you watching me?" She demanded.

"Not initially," Gilbert turned and looked out the window, "I was on a walk-that part was true-when I hear you exclaim that line." He looked at Anne; she was somewhere between angry and trying to understand.

"Soooo, you what? You came and watched me?"

She made it sound so creepy, "not-not exactly, Anne. I came running before registering what had been said, and stopped just before the field when I saw it was you. And then the wind gust took your ribbon. I saw which tree it got stuck in, so I climbed the branches and retrieved it," He lied through his teeth, looking back out the window. I can't tell her I sat in the tree watching her. She'd hate me.

"Ha ha! I knew you didn't remember me wearing that ribbon from Bash and Mary's wedding!" Anne accepted the story at Gilbert's word and brushed it off.

"Oh but I did," he smiled at her.

"Stop lying, Gilbert."

Gilbert felt that chill which runs down his spine only when Anne said his name.

"I'm not lying, Anne. It was the last time we'd seen each other, until today, and you told me you'd discovered your occupation. You also promised to try and not be as annoying," He side glanced at her. He knew he was on thin ice with that last part.

He remembers? Anne was taken aback. She did not expect Gilbert Blythe to practically quote her words back to her. And he remembers it was the last time we saw each other?

"Ahh—um," Anne stammered.

Anne Shirley-Cuthbert, speechless. What do you know. Gilbert smiled to himself,
"And it's such a nice ribbon plus it has been months since the wedding. I thought it was long overdue for a visit."