Idiosyncratic {Gilbert Blythe}

Chapter 11

Caspienne was in Charlottetown to find a hat for the winter. Usually, during the winter she would just push through and be stubborn, but after hearing of Diana's incident with her sister, she figured it would be better not to risk it, as she had no one to look after her. As she strolled down the street, her bag in hand, she noticed Diana and Anne hurriedly heading into a pub. What in the world were they going into a pub alone for? Cas thought to keep herself out of trouble this time, she didn't have the energy to get into one of their adventures today. She entered the shop in search of a hat suitable for her, and eventually, she settled on a dark blue-green beret. Caspienne's parents were French, and they were avid travelers, as they were always somewhere exotic like South America or Asia. It's how Caspienne got her name, which is the French word for the Caspian Sea; it's funny how Caspienne's name was inspired by her parent's luxurious travels, yet they never allowed her to go and left her at home to keep up in school.

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Caspienne walked through the woods, she didn't have any sort of destination or anything she needed to do, she was simply enjoying the late autumn forest. Everything was crisp, the trees were different shades of red and auburn, all muddied together into one big array of colors. Walking like this through the woods was tranquil and relaxing, it allowed Cas to think deeper without interruption, and it wasn't as draining as an adventure. Her breath was visible as she inhaled the earthy aroma and exhaled, as she continued to stroll through the woods.

However, the tranquility was interrupted by shouts from around the corner of the path. Caspienne sped up her pace and as she got around the corner, there before her were the Cuthbert's borders, and Jerry on the ground. She knew something was off about them, as she got ready to run up, one of the borders, Nate, aggressively shoved his partner down the hole of the site and simultaneously grabbed the gun he was holding.

"What are you doing?!" Caspienne quaked, her worry showing through her voice. Nate turned around and looked her in the eyes, and it shook Caspienne to her very core. The look in his eyes was deranged, like a savage cornered beast. As if time had slowed down, Caspienne saw him raise the gun in his hand and shakily fired, hardly even aiming. She felt a force blow through her left arm, and slowly, the searing pain of the bullet burned through her, as she fell to her knees shocked. Taking his chance, Nate ran as quickly as he could, the gun and money in hand. As her hands shook, Caspienne reached pulled off her beret and pressed it to her wound, as she nearly bit her tongue from its sting. Hot tears streamed down her face as the blood spot grew around her arm, staining the sleeve of her white dress. The throb in her arm got worse as she sat there on her knees, her adrenaline wearing off, but even in the state she was in, she got up and excruciatingly made her way over to Jerry and check on him. Once she saw he only had a bruise on his forehead, she laid on her side and closed her eyes, trying to push through the sting in her arm.

After what felt like hours, though Caspienne didn't even know how long it had been, she heard the thunderous stomps of hooves, worried shouts, and the voice of Matthew Cuthbert saying

"Careful now, there are people on the ground," he then recognized the two, "Jerry? Caspienne?" bringing her out of her daze, she attempted to sit up, but weakness came over her like a heavy wave, and she had lost a lot of blood. Her entire left arm was soaked in blood, and as she sat up, Matthew saw how wounded she was

"Get someone over here! She's been shot!" he shouted over to the others, and someone came over to apply a tourniquet to her wound.

"My new beret is ruined" Cas muttered half-jokingly,

"How can that be something you are worried about right now" Matthew replied, his voice laced with concern, "let's get you back to Green Gables, you need to rest and get a doctor"

As Caspienne was carried on horseback to Green Gables, she nearly fell unconscious, and the rest of the time she spent on the way into and inside Green Gables was a blur. The next day she woke up, yet again, in a room she didn't recognize, with her arm heavily bandaged and presumably stitched up.

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Resting in his hammock on the steamboat, Gilbert received yet another letter from Caspienne.

"Looks like you have an admirer Blythe" Sebastian teased Gilbert once more,

"I'm not sure why she sent two letters so close together, I hope everything is okay back in Avonlea," he said worriedly, as he tore through the envelope that said to: Gilbert Blythe, from: Caspienne Silkwood Elegantly written in cursive. His eyes went back and forth over each line and sentence. Bash leaned in and questioned what it was about this time, and Gilbert replied in awe

"There's Gold in Avonlea."

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AN: And here is the drama! I hope you guys don't mind the change in the story here, but I have been waiting for so long to write this part! I really enjoyed writing this and I hope you enjoyed reading it.