My Fairy Queen Anne

you can hear it in the silence (you are in love)

Anne waited eagerly at Charlottetown train station at 12 AM. It was late, and Gilbert had sent her a telegram that he'd ride home himself, but she wanted to be the first person that he saw when he stepped off the train. 

Aunt Josephine was hosting them for the night until she and all her friends could leave for Avonlea the next morning. Gilbert could only stay a day, but she was excited nevertheless. Her hands trembled and stomach fluttered with those dratted butterflies when she thought of getting to hold his hand in hers again.

She wrung her hands against each other, tugging at her dress to make sure she looked presentable. She hadn't the foggiest why she was so flurried to see him. He was just her Gilbert, after all. Perhaps that was it. Perhaps the idea that now he was her Gilbert made her as queasy as she was now. Would things change between them? There would definitely be a lot more kissing, but fundamentally, would they lose the honest friendship they kept up all these years? Would they still have their witty and admittedly enjoyable banter, or would they be expected to act proper and dignified with each other? She brushed off the worrisome thoughts, knowing that Gilbert would understand that she'd never done this before, even if he had.

(She wondered with a stray thought, had he ever kissed Winifred like he had with her, slowly, passionately, burning, and then all at once?)

She heard the chugging of the train before she saw it. A smile spread across her face as the jet black monstrosity pulled in, the only thing separating her and her lover now. As people started to dismount, she searched frantically for the face that she'd yearned for so much.

And then she saw him. He looked fatigued after the 16 hour train journey, but he was still so distinctly Gilbert, the same boy she had so intensely fallen for. His hair had grown out a bit, and his face had a healthier plumpness to it. But despite any physical change, the magnitude of her joy only increased tenfold. 

He met her eye and for a moment, all was still. Anne relinquished the bag that she had in tow and ran towards him, not minding a mite that people were watching. Any and all apprehension had escaped her. He too dropped the suitcase and ran towards her, them uniting in the middle, embracing tightly, Anne's frail arms grasping Gilbert with unexpected strength. Gilbert picked her up and spun her around, her squealing in surprised delight. They continued to hug, Gilbert's hands on her waist pulling her closer. Her hands were around his neck, her head resting in the crook of his shoulder, breathing in the scent of apple blossoms that he had somehow retained even after moving away from the farm. He always smelled so good, and she hadn't the foggiest why.

Gilbert unwillingly pulled away, cupping the curve of her face with his right hand tenderly, looking deep into her round baby blue eyes. And there was that look again, the one reserved especially for her. It wasn't much to other people, but to her, it was the entire world. She saw enough in his eyes to know that he cared for her and that was enough, all she'd ever wanted was for someone to care for her the way her Gilbert did.

She was just as he remembered her, somehow even more gorgeous when she was here in person with him. Even his wildest imaginations hadn't been able to capture the full vibrant copper of her hair or the essence of spring in her eyes or the peal of bells in her laugh.

He was overcome with the pressing desire to kiss her and kiss her he did. He pressed his lips to hers and for a moment, it was just the two of them, just two young people enjoying the essence of each other, basking in the sheer love for the other that lay in their hearts.

"Ahem," somebody said, clearing their throat. The couple, who very clearly had missed each other's company, pulled away from each other at once, though still maintaining a firm grip on to the others' hand. "Sorry to interrupt your... enthusiastic reunion, but I have no idea where to go. And you forgot this," he remarked dryly, handing them both the bags they had dropped in their flurry of passions. Gilbert rolled his eyes, taking both bags as Anne flushed.