Long Distance Love Letters

Everything is About to Change

Anne stared at her reflection with a palpitating heart. She couldn't believe that in a few hours, she would be married.

Her dress was the most elegant thing she had ever seen in her life. It was lacy with a little flounce but not too much. It had slightly puffy shoulders with sleeves that reached to the middle of her palms. The skirt of the dress fell gracefully to the floor, leaving a little train behind her. Anne had felt tears come to her eyes when she saw herself.

Her hair was half up and half in curls that ran down her back, very much like the day of her first kiss with Gilbert.

She could not believe this was her reality.

"Anne," Marilla called from outside the door. "Are you ready? We all want to see you!"

She laughed. "Coming!"

Anne and Gilbert were lucky enough to find a church that had rooms that the boys and girls could get ready in. Gilbert and his groomsmen were at the end of the hall. The idea that he was so close made it almost impossible to stay away, but her competitive spirit would not allow her to cave first.

She took a deep breath and opened the door, stepping out of the add-on dressing room into the girls' room.

Diana gasped. "Anne, you look stunning!" All of the girls surrounded her, giggling as they observed the dress and making adoring comments.

"Gilbert is going to lose his mind!" Ruby squealed, making Anne laugh giddily.

She looked over at Marilla and was surprised to see tears in her eyes.

Anne looked at her in shock. She rarely ever saw her adoptive mom cry.

The girls parted as Marilla approached her. She put her hands on Anne's shoulders.

"You look ravishing, Anne," she said softly. She sighed. "I just can't fathom that we're. It seems just yesterday that you became a Cuthbert. And now, you're about to become a Blythe."

Anne felt her own eyes full with tears and she flung herself into Marilla's arms, fighting a sob.

"I'll always be a Cuthbert," she mumbled. "Always."

Marilla pulled away. "Oh, I almost forgot the finishing touch."

She pulled out her veil that Anne had inherited. Anne turned around and Marilla gently pushed the comb into her hair then lifted the front part of the veil so it fell in front of Anne's face.

Anne turned to face her again, her vision now slightly distorted by the mesh of the veil.

"Thank you, mom," she whispered before she could stop herself.

If she had said this just a few months ago, Marilla would have scoffed and said, "Fiddlesticks. I am not your mother and do not call me a name that does not belong to me."

Now, though she looked a little surprise, love filled her eyes and she touched Anne's cheek briefly. "I'll be going now."

Anne smiled. She knew that this in no way extinguished her love for her biological mother, and she knew that Bertha would not mind at all. Nor would Walter.

She spent a little longer with her friends before there was a knock on the door. She opened it to reveal Matthew. She smiled, knowing that meant that Gilbert and his groomsmen had walked down the aisle and it was now time for the girls.

Matthew froze when he saw her. "Anne, you look..." He couldn't finish his sentence.

Anne grabbed his hands and squeezed them, a lump rising in her throat.

He took a deep breath. "I remember when you said that you wanted to be a bride and not a wife...and now..."

Not being able to hold back her tears, she hugged Matthew tightly, silencing him.

"I love you, dad," she whispered.

He didn't say a word, but he hugged her back tightly, which was a response on its own.

They finally pulled away and Anne looked around at him and her bridesmaids.

"Okay," she breathed. "Let's do this."

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AN: aight so i was gonna have the wedding be this chapter but i also didn't want it to be super incredibly long so i'm saving it until next chapter hope that's chill

also wow 2 chapters in a row with no interaction between anne and gil? shocking