My Fairy Queen Anne

what if i'm alright right here?

"Now that you've finished eating, you'd best be dozing off again. You can talk as much as your heart delights once you are well, Gil," she ordered, deflecting. She couldn't possibly think about even the possibility that he wouldn't make it. 

"Yes, ma'am," he rasped, waving her off as she tried to help him back down into a laying position. It took a second, but he did it with no problems.

She hesitated, softening for a moment. "Sleep well, darling."

"Actually... will you...read to me?" he asked hoarsely, his hazel eyes pleading. She laughed hollowly, nodding and flipping to where she had left off.

"She began now to comprehend that he was exactly the man who, in disposition and talents, would most suit her. His understanding and temper, though unlike her own, would have answered all her wishes. It was an union that must have been to the advantage of both: by her ease and liveliness, his mind might have been softened, his manners improved; and from his judgement, information, and knowledge of the world, she must have received benefit of greater importance..."

Within a couple minutes, he slowly drifted asleep to the sound of his truest love's melodic voice, beckoning him into pleasant dreams like the best of lullabies.

She noticed this and laughed softly at it. Getting up gracefully and taking the book with her, she leaned down to brush a kiss against his deathly pale cheek, finally gaining some color from the food (and her arrival, as she secretly loved to believe).

"I love you, my dearest," she mumbled softly.

Just as she was about to exit the room to find Josie and Alex and pick up an early dinner, his raspy voice called out to her.

"You really do... look radiant..." he said, steadying his breath as much as possible. "I-In emerald."

She reddened (the fool still knew how to make her blush!) and simply walked out.

____________________

Josie sighed bleakly and ripped up the paper in quarters, tossing it in the trash bin on the way out.

"What was it?" asked Alex, awaiting her outside the telegram office.

"Mother," she scoffed with contempt and a fantastic roll of her eyes. "She's furious that I would be so deceitful and desert our family! " Josie mocked, her voice comically high and sarcastic. "She must've paid a pretty penny to write a message that lengthy just to make it known that she was furious at me. I bet she used the money that would regularly be for my Christmas present."

"She's fuming because you left with a day until Christmas Eve," he translated dryly, letting her walk alongside him and lean on him casually. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer as she talked.

"Precisely. It isn't good for her reputation, after all. Her daughter, whose honor was already tarnished by her 'loose morals', not even present at Christmas dinner? And for what, to help her orphan friend? To go traipsing about with her beau that they've never met? Treacherous!" she scoffed, her face contorting into an odd sort of frown. Alex could've kissed her silly when he saw the way her nose scrunched so cutely in disgust. "But all the same, I feel disgusting for worrying about these things when my Anne's love of her life is dancing with death. It feels so... trivial."

The taller man shook his head, smiling lovingly at her. "I agree that we may have bigger fish to fry right about now, but that doesn't make your struggles invalid. Not addressing the problem isn't going to make it disappear, but perhaps it should be addressed later, in a more appropriate setting. Perhaps having a talk with your mother at home would do some good," he suggested, shrugging casually, tucking his right hand into his pocket in a way that made him look positively delicious to Josie.