My Fairy Queen Anne

i see sparks fly whenever you smile

After Anne had gotten back from romping about with her friends for an hour, exhilarated with the joy of finally returning to Green Gables for two glorious weeks, her spark was abruptly stomped out when an apologetic Marilla greeted her at the doorway.

"I tried to reign her in. I really did," Marilla sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "But no, she wouldn't hear of it! Apparently, it's her civic duty to lecture every couple in town, especially ones 'so dear to her heart!' She heralded him here under false pretenses just for all this. I think after you two, she's heading to the Pyes."

Anne was thoroughly perplexed at her words. "Marilla, what are you-"

Her question answered itself when she saw Rachel Lynde sitting in their parlor, sipping tea and making courteous small talk with her beau. Gilbert had also settled on the sofa across from Rachel, looking extremely uncomfortable. He seemed to lighten when he saw Anne arrive, eyes brightened from the fresh air, red hair in a windswept halo around her head, and dress filthy from traipsing near the Lake of Shining Waters with Diana and Ruby. How she could look like she'd rolled around in mud all day and he could still be so delighted to see her, she had no idea.

With a quizzical expression, she moved to sit right next to him, but the older woman tutted disapprovingly. Rolling her eyes, she sat on another chair, smiling stiffly to be polite. She poured herself some water and sipped it slowly, keeping a watchful eye on Rachel Lynde.

"Anne, Gilbert," Rachel began, clasping her hands in her lap with a seemingly innocuous smile. "I hope you're having a happy Christmas. I hold you two children so very dear to my heart. I was overjoyed to hear of your courtship, truly I was, though I can't imagine why you two hid it from me until Thanksgiving! You are a wonderful couple, and it is a shame that you have to stay so far apart for a large portion of the year. It does, however, give me a chance to have this very important talk with you before you stray too far into sin."

Anne almost choked on her water, spitting it back out with a cough. "Sin?" she spluttered, wiping her mouth frantically.

"There, there, dear," Rachel comforted rather robotically, as if her words would do anything to stop Anne's coughing fit. "I just have to discuss some things with the two of you to preserve your standing as moral citizens of Avonlea! You're young yet, so you don't know what truly tempting yet forbidden pleasures await you later in life. Now, I am quite a progressive woman, so I do like to see young people take a decent enough liking to the other, with the approval of the parents and comparable breeding, of course, such as you two. But suffice to say, progressivity should not turn into madness, so your relationship should remain chaste and purely emotional until I see you walk down the aisle in the future, Anne."

Rachel ended her sentence with an emphatic nod. Anne exchanged a wry and humorous look with Gilbert. They were past the point of no return now; they could barely keep their hands off each other.

Both of them flashed to the moment where Gilbert, in a delirious haze of sickness, had expressed his intent to marry her. Oh, it sent such a sweet thrill through her. She'd always wished for a most romantical proposal with the most pathetic language, but this one was something straight out of her very own love story!

Gilbert Blythe. By this time in four years, she'd be married to Gilbert Blythe! The thought made her feel as if she was floating in the air, the only thing keeping her grounded his loving gaze. Someday, she'd have her own parlor like this, have her very own children to give this lecture to, but maybe not quite so conservative about it.

"Could you...clarify?" Anne asked with a subtle smirk, glancing at a trying-not-to-laugh Gilbert. "What exactly does 'chaste' mean to you, Mrs. Lynde?"

"Of course you must not touch. If you are to make contact, it should be as proper couples do, with Anne on your arm, Gilbert. Any other touches are strictly forbidden. I know two responsible children like yourselves don't have anything to worry about," Rachel reassured, reaching across to pat Anne's hand.