-ˋˏ *.·:·. [THIRTY SECONDS LATER] .·:·.* ˎˊ-
CHARLOTTE REACHED THE DOOR TO HER BEDROOM AND IMMEDIATELY STOPPED IN HER TRACKS. She could sense that someone had touched something in her bedroom and the slight appley scent in the air told her who it had been. Gilbert Blythe had not only been in her room but had touched something in there even though he knew that she hated when people do that. She was about to shout down the stairs to her mother, asking why she had let the one person who she didn't want to see right now into her room when her gaze landed on her dresser. Laying near a dried red tulip lay a piece of her own paper, folded with her name scrawled across in black ink. She picked up the letter and turned it over in her hand, the want to rip it up into tiny pieces flooded the rational thoughts of her brain. But luckily Charlotte was a dreamer, a daydreamer who had already begun to speculate about the contents of the letter and with a deep, shaking breath she opened it up.
Dear Lottie,
I feel I must unburden my heart, you are the fond object of my affection and desire. You and you alone are the keeper of the key to my heart. Don't worry I don't expect you to return my favour but I can't in good conscience not reveal myself. I'm not engaged nor will I be unless it's to you.
I'm so sorry if I ruined everything with Anne, she would never compare to you and it was never my intention to cause you any pain. I am terribly sorry for hurting you, it's truly one of my deepest regrets. I should have listened to my father, he always said that he could see the two of us together, later on inlife of course. That I had the perfect person to live my life with. He said that the sooner I realise it the sooner I could be happy. That you were someone that I shouldn't let go of easily and now I realise that every single word is true.
You and you alone have the power to make me laugh, the power to make me feel better just with a smile or a hug. You are one of the most caring people I have ever met and I promise you you're not second to Anne, she's second to you. I just thought that you would never feel the same and I should move on, now I realise that I don't want to move on. You are the only person I see my forever with.
Tá mé i ngrá leat Charlotte Rayhill. I have since the day I first walked into your bakery and I always will.
Forever yours,
Gilbert Blythe
P.S I leave at noon for the train today, I hope to see you.
Charlotte's breath hitched in her throat multiple times as she read. He wasn't engaged, he didn't love Anne and he had told her that he love him. In Irish, he had told her he loved him. With a shaking hand over her mouth and one holding the letter she gazed at her Father's old pocket watch on her shelf and saw that it was twenty minutes to noon, twenty minutes until he would leave on the train. She dropped the letter, hitched up her skirt and ran.
From Gilbert's house to the train station it was a ten-minute carriage ride meaning he wouldn't have left quite yet. From her house to Gilbert's house it was approximately a five-minute run. If he hadn't left for the train yet she would catch him. She ran out of the Bakery, nearly knocking into a customer on the way which her Mother apologised for while laughing. She laughed a laugh of relief, her daughter had finally realised that what she wanted he wanted to and Mother knew that she wouldn't stop until she got what she wanted. Charlotte weaved through the small stones littering the dirt path out of her house, being extra careful not to trip because that could add extra time. She ran through the fence and headed straight for the path through the thinner part of the forest. She dodged logs, low hanging branches and the odd animal as she pushed her legs to go further and further. Running in a corset was hard, the restriction was hard but she wouldn't let that stop her. While running her hair got in the way too much, it got so bad that it became something that it would stick to her face so while running she tied her hair up with the shoelace once more. She got out of the forest and ran straight for the door to his home, knocking so frantically she worried the glass would break.
Bash was taken aback by the sight of the breathless, pink in the face girl that stood in front of him. "Charlotte-"
She cleared her throat, taking deep breaths to try and fill her screaming lungs even though they were restricted. "Is he here?"
"You just missed him, take our horse and catch him," he grinned after her shoulders sunk in disappointment. Bash had shipped the two from the beginning and if he could he would have driven her himself, both of them deserved the happiness that would come with being together.
"Thank you, Bash," she smiled, extremely grateful for the offer. Charlotte had thought she was about to run to catch up with a carriage but the use of a horse would be easier, even if she hadn't ridden in a while.
"Whatcha waiting around for, Go!" he exclaimed causing Charlotte to jump back into action, she ran straight up to the barn and began to ready the horse. "I knew it, I win!" Bash chuckled to himself as he watched Charlotte ride away on the horse moments later. Charlotte managed to somehow keep the horse going straight, having ridden only as a child keeping to the path ] was rather difficult. She managed to make do and soon found herself storming down the path looking for any sign on the carriage. She saw it from miles away. She waited until she was in earshot before calling his name, once then twice then three times before finally catching Gilbert's attention. He stopped the carriage. She hopped off her horse, petted it to calm it down then walked to Gilbert.
"Hey," she sighed breathlessly. Charlotte didn't know what to think, so much had changed in just under thirteen minutes and she didn't know what to do with herself. The only thought was him, him alone and finally doing something about the feelings that had torn her apart for months on end.
"Hey," he whispered as he walked closer to the girl who stood next to his other horse. He had thought that he had been too late, that she hadn't gotten the letter or simply didn't care. Both of their hearts were beating so hard in their chests that they could hear it in their ears.
She started to edge closer towards him, both of them stopped once they were so close they could touch. She whispered, "Is it true? What you wrote about-"
"Every word is true," he interrupted taking one of his hands and using it to cup her cheek, she leaned into the touch as it traced warmth across her cheek. He gazed over her features; the hairs that had fallen out of a half updo that framed her face perfectly, the slight red flush in her cheeks, the hazel that blossomed in her green eyes that he so adored and her red perfectly kissable lips.
She gasped slightly, "Gilbert I-" But she was cut off by him capturing her lips with his own. He closed the gap. The gap that had kept them apart for this long. The gap that they both never seized the opportunity to close. She wrapped a hand around his neck as she deepened the kiss she had dreamed about for so long.
There are moments in life where a split second changes the course of it forever, that you can physically feel yourself shift into a new timeline. For them, this was one of those times. Feeling the complete euphoria of kissing someone that you love completely for the first time. They both shared their first kiss with someone they loved entirely, it was not the outcome of a parlour game like so many others. Theirs was their own, theirs was special and set fluttering warmth through their stomachs.
They pulled away from each other with a breathless gasp and stared at each other in stunned silence before he chose to break it, "Do you-"
She this time closed the gap, the kiss once again was nothing short of divine. In the space of ten seconds, she craved that feeling that came with it once more. This time it wasn't a desperate kiss, this was one that they would savour for as long as possible. The kind that had him pulling her closer to him by her waist, the kind that would have your toes curling in your boots. They parted only for breath and partly because Gilbert had a train to catch. She hated that he had to leave again but stepped onto the carriage anyway. She sat with one of his arms wrapped around her shoulders, the two wanted to savour every close minute they could together before their relationship turned to one of the letters even if it wasn't the proper thing to do. They couldn't care, love overpowered all of those things.
They arrived at the train station after a very deep conversation about the possibility of their futures and all that Charlotte had missed over the weeks. She made a mental note to thank Rían for what he did, after all it was just what she had asked him to do. They parked the carriage and began to put his luggage onto the train, seeing his belongings being whisked away was difficult. Soon enough he would have to go with them and Charlotte had no idea how she would say goodbye. Well, it wasn't really a goodbye, it was a see you at a time which is very much unknown to the both of us. They stood on the platform, time going much faster than they would want, just relishing in the other's physical company for as long as possible.
"I don't think I'll be able to get on with you standing here," he whispered as he brushed a hand against her cheek once more, he loved the way that it made her head lean slightly towards him.
"I don't think I'll be able to let you leave," she whispered with a slight laugh, one which he joined in on. She, of course, would let him go, he had to go and study to be a Doctor after all and that was important to the both of them, saying goodbye would just be very very difficult. They then hugged each other goodbye, so tightly and so desperately. It was a hug full of whispered promises, a hug that was spent trying to remember how it felt to hug the other person. She rested her head on the nape of his neck and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He rested a hand on the back of her head and wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her even closer. They parted ever so slowly, savouring the lingering feelings of the others touch before they both went cold. He took her hands in his and kissed her knuckles, Charlotte let out a tearful laugh that felt like music to Gilbert's ears. With the promise of many letters she turned, she turned and she walked back to where they had parked the carriage so they could have the space that would get him onto that train. Sometimes you have to walk away just for a second, so you can both have what is necessary for your complete happiness.
While she sat in the carriage, unable to leave until the train had, Charlotte finally felt her mind turn quiet. No more racing thoughts meant she could think the day over in great detail, every little word and single movement. That's when it hit her, she hadn't said it back. So Charlotte picked up into a run again. She weaved through people, finally finding the compartment where he sat after a few minutes.
"Gil!" she called through the glass on the train's window, gathering his attention. "Tá mé i ngrá leat!" Nobody would know what she had said, but he did and that was all that mattered. Gilbert grinned at her love declaration, looked quickly behind him then leapt out of his seat and came running out of the door to the train once again. He captured her lips with a soft kiss once more, making sure that it would be a memorable one for the two of them. The train began to move, breaking them apart. This train would travel the length of land that would be keeping them apart, it was already doing its job of making things difficult.
With a final peck on the lips, Gilbert jumped onto the moving train and they both watched each other get further and further away. Her love was off to Toronto to become a doctor and his love was off to Charlottetown to become the artist he already saw in her. They would make long-distance work, if anyone could it would be two people who had been best friends for so long and only acted on their feelings at the very last minute.
Charlotte Rayhill and Gilbert Blythe could finally be happy together for their forever.