My Fairy Queen Anne

this love left a permanent mark

Gilbert woke up as the light filtered in through the light and lacy curtains. At first, he thought he was still back in his miserably lonely boarding house in Toronto (and worried for a split second that he might've been late to Anatomy), but then he registered the divinely beautiful red head asleep beside him, face buried in the crook of his shoulder. He could scarcely believe it; it was as if he had died and gone to heaven! Never in his 18 years would he have imagined finally getting Anne to love him. He felt like he wanted to tell the entire world! Anne Shirley Cuthbert loved the likes of him! Oh, how undeserving he was of her tender affections.

She looked like an angel, his Anne. With her red hair unrestrained by any ribbons or ties, it hung in loose waves around her milky white face, looking like a halo of fire around her. Her pink lips were upturned slightly in her sleep as if she was dreaming about something pleasant and slightly parted as she breathed in and out. Her eyes were closed, long auburn lashes grazing her freckled and glowing-almost iridescent cheeks. His shirt had ridden up a little bit, exposing just the very edges of the skin above her knees, revealing freckled thighs with just a few pretty scrapes from her adventures in the forest. 

The image that rampaged through his head next was one that he himself was shocked at. He thought of her wearing something else of his. Well, not exactly his. Specifically, his mother's ring, the elegant circlet of pearls and gold, still waiting there for someone to claim it forever back in his father's old room. Then he thought of Anne's ring finger slipping that ring on and never taking it off, just like his mother had cherished it back in her day, before his deplorable birth had ended her life so abruptly.

He also thought of her finger being grasped by an infant's hand, one with bright red hair and startling blue eyes. He'd want all his children to look like her, for she was the most beautiful person he'd ever laid eyes on. He thought of them 50 years in the future, hair graying and laugh lines abundant on their faces, sitting on the front porch steps of an sumptuous manor near the beach, as she loved it so. Of course, he'd be content with her in a garbage bin, but he'd aim to give her only the finest in life as she deserved.

She stirred next to him, eyes fluttering open.

"Gilbert?" she yawned, voice saturated with sleep.

"Good morning, my fairy queen," he greeted, lowering his mouth to kiss her lips quickly.

"Ew," she grumbled. "Morning breath. Go wash out your mouth." She sat up, stretching her arms out, then reaching down quickly to pull the shirt back to her knee level.

"What if I don't want to?" he defied, grinning at her. She glared at him, rolling her eyes.

"Then you can take the train back to Toronto right now," she retorted coolly, crossing her arms over her chest. "I certainly wouldn't miss you."

"Oh, I've been struck," Gilbert lamented, placing a hand over his heart. She ignored him, getting up out of the bed and walking over to her bag.

"We should get ready. It's 6:00 and Aunt Jo wants us down by 6:30." From her bag, she pulled out an elegant white laced dress, complete with yards of rippling blue fabric and a simple dark blue jacket. She also took out her corset, stepping behind the floral folding screen.

After putting on the skirt portion, Anne tried to lace the corset, but to her dismay, it had seemingly gotten knotted at the back! With a groan, she realized that she'd have to have Gilbert help her.

"Anne, are you alright?" he asked when he heard her express her displeasure.

"Gil, please do not take this the wrong way, but could you please assist me in lacing my corset? It seems to have gotten tangled," she explained, hoping he wouldn't think her a trollop for asking him so. After all, he'd have to see her upper back!