𝐆𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐌𝐄 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐎𝐌 | gilbert blythe

08. green gables

Penny had never been to Green Gables before.

Her father had gone a few times to give the family a table or fix a chair but Penny had never been permitted to join him.

But now, as she sat cozily with tea in front of her, she was disappointed she hadn't gotten to experience the lovely household sooner.

The fire crackled warmly and the assurance of both Gilberts coat and the thick blanket she had been cloaked in only provided double the protection she felt.

"Now, I'd like the three of you to go upstairs to bed for a few hours," Marilla voice felt almost as warm as her home, "You both need rest after that terrible night. I've placed an extra cot in your room, Anne."

"I can help you, Marilla," Anne tried to argue, "I can fetch the eggs,"

"You can, but you won't" Marilla shot down, "Now, up to bed all of you. Anne please see to it that your guest's are comfortable"

"Come along, Penny, Ruby. I have a lovely gable room, and the cherry tree is ever so friendly..." Anne began spieling poetically about the beauty of her room as she trailed upstairs.

Before Penny followed, she turned to Marilla despite the drowsiness in her body and the smallest of aches in her throat, most of the pain having been removed with the tea.

"Are you sure there's nothing I can do, ma'am?" She asked politely with her hands behind her back.

"Why of course, dear. It's been a long night for you especially," Marilla wrinkled her brows at the girls offer, assuming she of all people would want to sleep.

Penny gave one last sharp nod before following after Anne's voice upstairs.

Anne's room was a thing of earthly beauty. Light streamed in perfectly and the bare furniture decorated the room minimally but elegantly, a large tree that Penny was sure blossomed beautifully in the spring extended in front of the window.

"I can sleep on the cot," Penny nodded towards the thin mattress on the floor, reminding her of her own bed at home, "I really don't mind"

"Marilla would be most unpleased if I did that, I insist you sleep in my bed with Ruby," Anne left no room for argument as she crawled into the cot on the floor and Penny was forced to slide in next to Ruby. As Penny had the night before in Ruby's room, she couldn't help but sigh contently at the softness of the mattress.

Ruby's sobs were soon the only noise in the small room as she lost control of her already delicate emotions.

"My first night here in this room, I cried as you do now." Anne spoke, trying to comfort Ruby, "Try as I might, there was no hope for my imagination that cold night. Princess Cordelia was nowhere to be found."

"Princess Cordelia?" Ruby was able to question through her sniffles.

Anne was quick to rise to her feet, "Well..."

"She's a wise and solitary princess. She wears dresses of the finest silk, and velvet with puffed sleeves and ever so many flounces," Anne emoted, covering herself with her curtain as though to represent the dress as her red hair hung loose around her face, "One day, Princess Cordelia arrived at the most beautiful kingdom in the world. She knew not a soul, and was worried no one would like her,"

"All my dresses will be ruined by the smoke!" Ruby broke into another round of tears as the epiphany came to her.

"You are welcome to mine," Penny whispered gently, "You know I only wear the same two anyway,"

And this was true, Penny had a fair amount of dresses as appearances were key to her father, and he had boughten her a decent amount on his trips to Charlottetown. However, she often chose the simplest of them to wear to both school and to town, having made them herself based on patterns her mother had left.