LITTLE HUMMINGBIRD ━━ ( GILBERT BLYTHE )

ONE ; two boys

Sydney's mother adored her hair. She said she loved the way it was perfectly blonde. The way it always seemed like it was freshly bleached by the way her whole head of hair was effortlessly light and angelic. Her roots were not even a shade darker than her ends.

Sydney always admired her mother, Chloe Salem. In many ways. One being her looks. Her long dark hair was almost entrancing to her. Her father's hair reminded her of a night sky during a meteor shower. Pitch black with streaks of shiny white.

It was a big surprise when Chloe and Cal's baby was born with platinum blonde hair, considering they both had relatively dark hair. Over Sydney's fourteen years of life, her white-blonde hair turned a bit more golden, although staying greatly light.

Her mom always told her, "Treasure your hair darling. You never know if one day it may darken. Or one day, you shall lose it."

Now here she was, sharp scissors in her shaking hand as she holds up a strand of her hair in front of the grainy mirror.

Charlotte Town seemed like a dead-end for Sydney, now that her parents were now gone.

Some parents tend to be overprotective. Wanting their darling children to stay close to home, no matter what they wanted. But Sydney's parents were different. Hers wanted their little girl to see as much of the world as she could.

They wanted all of her wildest dreams to come true, no matter where they took her.

She loved them dearly and with all of her heart. Sydney wanted them to join her on all her adventures. But her wondrous father was taken by a stroke when Sydney had just achieved a decade of life. And her loving mother was taken a month ago by a horrible fever.

Both events were engraved into the young mind of Sydney Salem. The sight of her father's face as he clutched his chest and dropped to the ground in front of her. The way his usually bright and lively face was stolen of any color. It felt like she had screamed and cried for hours, she screamed until it was painful.

But the pain in her throat felt like a walk in the park compared to the way Sydney could feel her big, porcelain heart shattering.

She could still feel her mother's burning forehead against her own as she pulled her daughter close and softly whispered how much she cherished her and how she was her whole world.

Sydney could see the way her bright brown eyes were quickly fogging with tears of death.

She kisses away the tears that fell from Sydney's eyes, which were red and puffy from crying. Her last breath haunted her. The last thing she said before the life left her eyes was,

"Go, go where your heart takes you, Sydney, and never let anything stop you."

So that's exactly what she's doing now. She's not letting anything stop her. The blonde hair that usually fell a bit beyond her collarbones now fell to the middle of her ears in fluffy waves.

She hasn't got enough money so it's not like she can really go where her heart takes her. So she found a steamboat that would take a route all across the world, just like her parents wanted.

The only problem is, she can't get a job there as a girl.

Ridiculous.

Now, Sydney's parents weren't rich by any means, but they did leave enough money to keep Sydney alive without a job for many years. So she used a small portion of her inheritance to buy a couple of button-ups and trousers.

The hardest part of changing her sex in a matter of minutes was hiding her feminine curves. Sydney bought the tightest shirts she could find and just went to town layering them. She then put on a loose, tan button-up on top.

She hated to admit that she was terrified. Sydney Salem was never one to admit her weaknesses, she was terribly stubborn and liked to think herself brave. But there was a big possibility that she wouldn't pass as a man. All she can do is hope for the best.

Sydney took a deep breath and put on her father's black flat cap. It covered more of her short blonde hair. She grabbed her leather satchel and looked back at her lonely house one last time.

It felt weird and cold without either of her parents. She could still hear her dad's obnoxiously loud laughter and her mother's inviting voice as she sang quietly when she made dinner. But now it was still and silent, Sydney didn't know what to do in Charlotte Town without them.

So she looked forward and kept walking with her shoulders back and her head held high. Sydney couldn't tell if she was trying to give herself confidence or make herself look taller. It was honestly a mix of both.

She tipped her hat to the passing ladies who muttered a "Good day" to me. The young girl gripped the strap of her satchel tightly against me as an old woman, dressed in blue, eyed her curiously.

Maybe this isn't going to work

They'll see right through me.

When she first thought out her plan, she knew she would have to change her name. She decided to change Sydney Salem to just Syd Salem. Most people already called her Syd, so she thought it would be easier to use that since she already naturally responded to it. She signed in with that name.

The salty breeze blew through her now short hair and nipped at her skin. It was slightly chilly, which helped considering Syd was sweating buckets with nerves.

As she walked up the wide wooden plank, she stopped in the middle to question her decisions. Suddenly, she stumbled, barely catching herself.

"Sorry man," a tall boy with dark curls held onto her shoulder as she found her balance once again, he looked at her with a soft expression, "I wasn't looking where I was going.

"Don't-" She cleared her throat, dropping her voice a couple of octaves, "Don't, uh, worry about it."

"I'm Gilbert, Gilbert Blythe." He stuck his hand out and have Syd a bright, beautiful smile. Damn.

"Syd Salem, nice to meet you. Are you working on the ship?" She said, tilting her hand slightly to the side. He looked quite young, but then Syd remembered that he looked her age, probably a bit older so she didn't have room to talk.

Yes, I am. I'm guessing you are too since this is the worker's entrance." Gilbert chuckled softly and ruffled up his already messy hair.

As he looked Syd up and down, he couldn't help but notice how the boy in front of him was so... pretty? He had glossy blue eyes and long eyelashes that curled back, hitting his eyelids. He was about four to five inches shorter than him, which made him have to slightly crane his neck to look at Gilbert in the eyes.

At the same time, Sydney looked Gilbert up and down too. She found him quite attractive, his fluffy, almost black hair looked awfully soft and his jawline looked like it could cut diamonds.

"Well, the ships departing soon, so we should head inside." Gilbert pointed ahead and the two of them walked in, instantly feeling the overbearing heat.

"See you soon." And with another charming smile, Gilbert walked off, leaving Sydney with a flushed face. Either from the heat or from the boy who had just left.

Eh, who cares.

_

FULL CREDIT TO THE PLOT GOES TO mangoesblythe, READ HER WORK, ESPECIALLY HER ONESHOT BOOK WHICH IS WHERE I GOT THE MAIN PLOT FOR THIS!!!

i imagine Sydney kind of like billie elish with her blonde hair but you can imagine her as whoever you want, her being blonde isn't a very important part of her character i just wrote the first part to make writing Sydney cutting her hair not so plain and boring and show the kind of relationship she had with her parents, so it'll be fairly easy to change her description to fit you better but her race will probably be harder to change sorry