Anne with an E - A Winter Journey

6 - Why do you two look so happy?

Anne, Ruby and Gilbert looked to where Diana was pointing and saw that she was right. Just ahead lay four sets of footprints.

"We've been walking in circles!" Ruby wailed.

"We can't have!" Anne cried. "I'm sure I know where we're going!"

"Well clearly you don't," replied Ruby sharply, "or we'd be home by now!"

"I..I.." Anne didn't know what to say. She'd been certain she knew where she was going. She'd been so confident to lead their adventure through the snowy woods! But she had been distracted by their recent conversation and perhaps she hadn't paid as much attention as she should have. The worst part was that her friends looked so disappointed in her. Diana's brow furrowed with sadness as she realised how lost they were. Ruby looked like she would burst into tears at any moment. Gilbert, meanwhile, was scanning their surroundings, clearly trying to figure out where their useless leader had gone wrong. Anne hung her head in shame, admitting defeat.

"It's getting so dark. It must be very late." Diana's voice shook as she voiced her concern.

"What are we going to do?" Asked Ruby. "If we can't find our way tonight, we'll die of pneumonia!"

Ruby was prone to hysterics and was known to exaggerate frequently but Anne knew her friend was right. If they didn't find their way out of the woods soon, they would be in serious trouble.

"What's that over there?" asked Gilbert hopefully, squinting his eyes as he looked into the distance.

"Where?" asked Diana, "Oh, I see! It looks like a house!"

A weight lifted off Anne's shoulders as she followed Gilbert's gaze and saw that yes, there was a house in the distance. If they couldn't get out of the woods tonight, finding somewhere to stay was the next best thing.

Without another word, the group took off in the direction of the house, with Gilbert leading this time. As they got closer they realised it wasn't a house they had found but a small shed. It was similar to the one Anne held her story club meetings in with Diana and Ruby but this one was in much better repair and was about double the size.

Gilbert signalled for the girls to wait a few meters behind him as he slowly approached the front door. It creaked as he pushed it open and Anne realised she was holding her breath. It wasn't just that the woods seemed creepier at night but more that she was concerned for Gilbert. Anne's common sense told her there was nothing scary hiding inside the shed but another, less sensible part of her wanted to protect him. How strange, thought Anne, why do I feel protective of Gilbert?

"It's safe!" called Gilbert as he took a step further into the shed, waving for the girls to follow.

"In fact, this is perfect!" he shouted excitedly and the girls rushed forward.

Anne's face lit up as soon as she entered the wooden hut and noted the small wood burning stove and what appeared to be a pile of blankets. Diana and Ruby looked less enthusiastic.

"There's nothing here!" Ruby complained. "Why do you two look so happy?"

Anne and Gilbert looked at each other, their big grins mirroring each other. Anne felt a small flutter in her stomach. Gilbert looked so handsome when he smiled.

"Well first of all there's a fire," explained Gilbert, turning back to Ruby and Diana, "so we can warm up a bit!"

"And there are blankets" added Anne, picking one up from the pile.

Diana's face wrinkled in disgust as a small cloud of dust expelled from the brown rag. "It's not very clean!" She was used to the finest quality bedding and had never lived in anything less than luxury.

"Well it's the best we have" said Anne positively. She was adamant to turn their doomed adventure around.

"Yeah, and if you think this is bad, you should see what we slept with on the steamer!" added Gilbert with a chuckle.

Anne felt her heart swell. She was so glad that Gilbert was backing her up, and not just because she was excited about their adventure. It felt nice to have him on her side for once, instead of him being the one she was disagreeing with.

"Oh yes, and I slept in all kinds of beds in the various houses I stayed in before Green Gables," Anne laughed lightly as she looked at Gilbert. "When you've worked hard and are tired enough, any bed will do!"

Gilbert looked admiringly at Anne. Deep inside he still wished that Anne had been given the loving childhood she deserved. But he admired the way she could find the positive in any situation. What's more, he loved that she wasn't as precious as the other girls he knew. Diana and Ruby were lovely girls but they were spoilt in so many ways. They didn't know what life was like without clean houses and pretty dresses. Anne, on the other hand, adapted effortlessly to any situation. He'd seen her look beautiful in her fancy blue puff-sleeve dress one day and equally radiant with mud up to her knees working on the farm the next. There was no one quite like Anne.

"Well I am tired," said Ruby, eyeing up the blanket in Anne's hand.

"And I suppose it would be nice to put the fire on," agreed Diana.

Anne beamed with delight. "That's settled then! We'll stay here for tonight and get some rest, then we can set out again the morning!"

Now all they had to do was sort out the sleeping arrangements...

A/N - I'm excited! The next chapter is the first idea I had for this story so I've been building up to it for days! What do you think will happen next?
Please comment and vote! X