'the cleansing fire of spirit consumes the troubles of this world. feed your concerns to the fire. breathe deeply and rejoice'
It was a cold night and Aurelie could not manage to fall asleep. She instead pasted a few more flowers into her notebook quietly. She knew her mother wouldn't want her up at this time.
Her window was open halfway, causing the wind to blow at her fingers. The pages of her notebook moved slightly. All of a sudden, Alice barged in with a lantern, startling the young girl. Aurelie heard a bell ring outside.
"There's another fire in town." The mother announced. Aurelie quickly stood from her seat, and ran after her mother in a hurry to arrive and try and help calm down the fire.
Once they arrived, the house was engulfed in flames. Aurelie panicked at the sight. All the memories of a few months ago flooded her mind.
"This is the Gillis' house." Alice realized
"Is everyone out safe?" Worried Aurelie.
"Yes." Alice confirmed. Aurelie stared up at the house in terror.
All of sudden, Diana cried out. "Anne! Anne!" She screamed. "Anne went inside!"
Alice and Aurelie quickly helped bring more water to the firefighters. The fire was beginning to calm down.
"Anne slowed down the fire!" A boy called out in amazement. "It was Anne! She did it!"
***
The next morning, no one had really gotten any sleep. They all gathered in front of the burnt down house. "And we thank Thee, O Lord for your mercy. And of some have compassion, making a difference. Others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating the garment spotted by the flesh." Recited the minister, dressed in black. "Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling and to torment you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy...."
Aurelie looked to her mother, who had her eyes shut. She seemed to do that a lot when she was anxious or stressed. Aurelie reached for her mother's hand, holding it tight.
"...we thank thee for watching over us, and keeping all in our community safe from harm. Praise be to God Almighty."
"Alright, it's settled. The Gillis family will be billeted out." Mrs. Lynde announced. "To the Barrys, the Thompsons, and ourselves."
"All the men pulling together, we figure the major repairs will take about a week." Added Mr. Lynde.
"Sound about right." Agreed Mr. Barry.
"Jerry and I will put things right at Green Gables and be back as soon as we can." Spoke Matthew Cuthbert.
"As will I. I'll bring as many hands as I can spare." Continued Mr. Barry.
"Thank you." Mr. Gillis nodded with a worried expression. "What a thing. What a thing." He sighed.
"We'll get it all squared away. Never fear." Assured Mr. Barry.
"We owe you all a great debt of thanks." Stated Mrs. Gillis as she held her baby close. "Especially dear Anne." She looked to the red headed girl, who smiled. "Risking your life for us, and taking such quick action. And ladies, thank you kindly for agreeing to take the children. Especially since school won't be in session. You'll have your hands full." She glanced at Alice and Aurelie.
"Ruby." She called out to her daughter. "Come here, please."
"It's no trouble at all. We're happy to have her." Stated Alice kindly.
"Now Aurelie and Ruby can get to know each other better." Mrs. Gillis grinned as Ruby approached.
"What? No. Mother!" Ruby complained as she realized she would be staying with Aurelie.
"Ruby..." her mother scolded.
"I don't want to stay there." Ruby pleaded.
Aurelie didn't expect any different from the girl. While Alice frowned in confusion, Aurelie simply stood there with a neutral expression.
"My, my." Mrs. Gillis shook her head. "Calm yourself."
"Why can't I stay with Diana?" Questioned Ruby. She felt very strongly about staying with the Thompsons. She almost appeared afraid.
"That's enough. The plan is set." Refused her father.
"I'll never live it down! Please don't make me!" Ruby begged.
"I won't have any more of this. After the events of this evening you should be grateful to have a bed to sleep in at all." Mrs. Gillis huffed while Ruby cried. After another moment, the couple left, leaving Ruby, Alice, and Aurelie alone.
"It's alright. Don't worry. I'm sure no one will think you're my friend." Whispered Aurelie to the girl.
"Well, uh.." Alice spoke up with an awkward smile. "I reckon we should be off. Ruby, we've got the most beautiful garden at home if you enjoy flowers. Newly grown flowers. Once we arrive, Aurelie can show you to your room, which you will be sharing."
Ruby frowned, following Alice and Aurelie.
***
Once at home, they sat by the fire place, drinking a hot tea that Alice brewed up for the two. "Now, I'd like the two of you to go upstairs to bed for a few hours. You both need rest after that awful night." Alice urged.
"I can help you, Mother. I should fetch eggs." Aurelie suggested.
"You can, but you won't. Now, up to bed with both of you. Aurelie, please see to it that your guest is comfortable." Alice refused. Aurelie reluctantly stood up from her seat, followed by Ruby.
The two of them squeezed into the bed together, however, it was very difficult to sleep as neither of them were particularly tired and Ruby could not stop crying.
Aurelie didn't blame her, of course. She did not cry any less after the fire at her home. Aurelie turned to look at Ruby. She was not quite sure what to say to the girl.
"I know how you feel. Remember? My house burnt down not too long ago. I lost my father to the fire." Aurelie mumbled. "I cried every night for about a few months. And it's completely...normal that you feel this way." Aurelie sighed. She never intended to become friends with Ruby, especially after what Josie Pye had told her, but she hadn't much of a choice now.
"Hey, it'll only be a week for the major repairs. A week really isn't that long when you plan out all the things you want to do." Aurelie encouraged. "You know, this can be cause for a redesign. Maybe you can paint your room a new colour. There'll be more change."
Ruby's sobs seemed to quiet down. "I don't like change." The girl shook her head. Aurelie sighed. "I know how to bake cookies. We can make them for the boys while they work. You can see Gilbert." Aurelie smiled. "You know he put the blaze out on your behalf."
"On my behalf?" Ruby raised her eyebrows. "I hadn't really thought of it like that.." She mumbled.
"Well, I didn't notice, of course." Aurelie rolled her eyes. "I am not a Gilbert Blythe fan." She scoffed.
"That's a good idea about the cookies." Ruby commented. "It's a shame Josie Pye doesn't like you."
Aurelie chuckled slightly. "Josie Pye seems like she doesn't like a lot of people." She exhaled.
"That's true." Ruby responded casually, before falling asleep.
***
The next morning, Aurelie and Ruby arrived at Ruby's home with a basket. The men and boys were working to put the house back together.
"Afternoon, Minister." Aurelie stepped up to the minister who stood by a table. "We baked some cookies. Would you care for one?" She offered.
"Oh, don't mind if I do." He chuckled thankfully. "Oh, this is some heavy work." He wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Speaking of which, I was, uh.. wondering if I could maybe help? I do very good with a hammer and I'm quite strong." Aurelie inquired. The man waited for a moment, unable to tell if she were joking.
"Uh... well.. I suppose we need all the help we can get." He nodded slowly. He had never been asked such a question from a young girl, though he would feel bad depriving her of the opportunity. Aurelie grinned, then turned to Ruby.
"Let's go to Gilbert." She whispered, picking up a hammer off the table. Ruby blushed, making her way closer to the house.
"Hey, look, it's flower girl and her new twin sister." Billy teased from above.
"As long as they bring food, I don't care if it's Quasimodo." Commented Gilbert.
While looking up at Gilbert, Ruby was distracted. She tripped over her own foot, falling flat on the fallen leaves. "Ruby!" Aurelie called out in worry.
Billy burst into laughter. "That was great!" He exclaimed.
"Ruby, are you alright?" Worried Aurelie. Ruby sobbed, staring down at the leaves in embarrassment.
"Girls are so useless. Guess you should have stayed home in the kitchen, eh?" Shouted Billy.
"You seem to be forgetting that I am holding a hammer." Aurelie mentioned in a threatening tone.
"Go home and bake cookies!" Insulted the blond boy.
"Headline: they already did." Gilbert spoke up.
"This is Ruby's property, or did you forget?" Aurelie added in frustration.
"Why don't you shove off, and leave the men to their work?" Billy argued.
"Well, maybe I'll come up there and finish the job myself if you're too busy being ignorant and selfish! Better yet, I'll put this hammer to even better use." Aurelie threatened. This caused the men around to laugh. Aurelie glared at them, holding the hammer tightly in her hand.
Gilbert made his way down and helped Ruby up to her feet. "Hey, here. You alright?" He checked. He handed her the hat that had fallen off of her head. "There you are."
He glanced at Aurelie, then down at the hammer in her hand. Aurelie raised her eyebrows slightly, but she didn't notice herself doing it.
"Thank you, Gilbert." Ruby blushed.
"Yeah. Of course. Thanks for, Um, coming to help feed the beasts." He joked, continuously glancing at Aurelie every few moments.
While Ruby continued to marvel at the sight of Gilbert, he looked off to the side awkwardly. Every time he glanced at Aurelie, he was unsure of what to say. "Um..." He began.
"Ruby, do you wanna stay here and watch while I help them on the roofs?" Aurelie whispered in the girls ear. "You can see more of Gilbert...working." She said it so silently so only Ruby could hear and Gilbert was only left with inaudible whispers. Ruby grinned, her cheeks glowing a bright pink. "Yes." She nodded.
Aurelie looked to Gilbert with determination. Leaving Ruby, she walked past the confused boy and made her way up to where Billy worked.
"What are you doing?" Billy questioned. He spoke as if the mere presence of her offended him.
"I'm helping." She demonstrated the hammer in her hand.
"Girls don't repair houses." Billy scoffed.
"Watch me." Aurelie made her way further down, nailing a large plank of wood over a broken roof patch. Gilbert, after making his way back up, watched in amusement.
"What a freak." Mumbled Billy in anger.
"Maybe don't insult her too much. Don't forget she still has a hammer and a set of nails." Gilbert whispered to the boy with a slight smirk and a chuckle.