Hello, everyone! I am back and I am much more than excited for this new journey ahead with this new fanfiction of mine. I just wanted to take a minute to tell you that I appreciate every one of you reading all of my stories as well as reviewing, following and favouriting them. Thank you for this amazing support :) Also, as my life is really busy and busier than ever, I want to make you aware that unfortunately, I won't be able to post new chapters in as organised and quick a way as I used to with my other fanfictions. Sorry about that! I will always try to update as soon as I can and that is what I can promise you. Once again, thank you all and... I hope you're going to enjoy this very first and new chapter :) - Bathsheba Blythe
Chapter I
"This is the most exquisite snowstorm I ever did see. I must admit that it is very aesthetically pleasing for your wedding-day, dear baby sister." Una smiled at Nan's lips moving as she was half-looking outside the window of Rilla's bedroom and half-concentrating on pinning her little sister Rilla's auburn curls in place.
Rilla's hazel eyes wondered off to the window, her pale complexion beaming from the white light as she smiled sweetly at Nan "It's not snowing this heavily." she remarked and all the girls in the room grinned at her hopefully "But it does look very beautiful." she added with a dreamy voice which was a voice a girl about to get married to a man of her dreams should sound like.
Una turned her head from the window and looked at the girls, or rather women, filling up the room which even without the help of the light coming from the window would be able to fill the whole room with brightness.
It was the last day of the year of 1919, however, it was the first wedding in the family of the famous Blythe children. Una felt almost like a joyful shadow on that snowy day, following the events progressing rather than following people or anything else, and filling her spirit up with the atmosphere so full of love if not spread from the bride and groom but from those who loved them most dearly.
It has to be said, however, that Rilla's wedding wasn't the first one after the war in Glen St Mary. A certain Mary Vance was 'Mary Vance' no more and she was wholly Mrs Douglas as of a month earlier. Since the day of her wedding, Mary could not stop always referring to being so very lucky to be a shopkeeper's wife and although most people were quite on the edge with her constant reference to this fact, including Miss Cornelia herself, Mary was truly very happy indeed. Gertrude Oliver, too, became a Mrs and was the merriest wife of Robert Grant anyone would ever be able to see or imagine her to be.
Rilla's bedroom was overfilled with beautiful young women, all carrying a different story from the past, the present and shall carry it into their future. Una always enjoyed admiring each of them separately when she'd sit back in her seat quietly, with a book in her lap or just a silent air surrounding her.
Nan's cheeks were crimson from excitement for the first wedding of her family yet Una knew that it was also Nan's excitement for her own upcoming wedding to no one else but Una's older brother, Jerry. Despite the plan for Jerry attending Redmond College first, he suddenly received a job as an editor in Charlottetown and so he accepted it gladly, especially because now he knew he was going to have a woman of his heart by his side forever starting next July. Just a month after their wedding, Jem and Faith were to elope as Jem's plan also changed and he decided: "I won't be wasting my time till I finish my degree in two years, I will marry my girl in the bloom of next summer.". Therefore, there was no surprise for Una to witness her dearest sister smiling at Rilla's creme-coloured veil with a twinkle in her own hazel eyes.
As the women surrounded little Rilla to focus on the set of her jewellery borrowed from her mother and Leslie Ford themselves, Una realised that Di sat down opposite her on the windowsill. They both smiled at each other knowingly "Have you finished your essay on 'Frankenstein' yet, my dear Una?" Di asked and Una thought as if her companion's ruddy locks were sparkling even more now than they had ever before.
"Yes, I promised myself I would finish it before coming for Rilla's wedding." she replied softly, instinctively touching her thick, black hair pinned up, if it was indeed still intact. It was indeed and so she grinned back at Di lightly "Although, I still can't quite get used to the fact that I swapped my Household Science for English Literature." she faintly chuckled which made Di smile at her wider.
"You're enjoying it, aren't you?" she asked.
"Tremendously." the black-haired faerie answered "I could argue it was the best decision I have made so far in my life." she smiled softly again, as if to herself. Her right hand wandered off to the pocket of her skirt unconsciously and her fingers touched the surface of a letter from almost five years earlier, written by a boy who was the reason for her change of course at Redmond College - she wanted to see the world through his eyes, she was determined to do whatever it takes in order to do so. Walter was always and still was at the back of Una's mind and she knew that he was too at the back of Di's mind. Such was the reason why the two of them became such good friends over the summer without necessarily speaking about Walter to each other at all. Yet, at least.
Di outstretched her hand towards her and Una took it gently in her own "I'm glad you're happy there." she said to her and something in her voice worried Una, that faint sparkle of an unfulfilled ambition, unfulfilled hunger for an adventure Di's soul always called for. Di told Una of her dream to go somewhere far away and start her life at last whilst teaching children English in a country where she herself would have to learn a different language than her own. Even though the flame-haired girl wasn't sure when or how she was to achieve this dream, Una knew inside that somehow she would. For as much as Di was a wonderful teacher at Four Winds school, her spirit and destiny laid elsewhere.
"I am." Una replied gently, squeezing back Di's hand before it fell back into her lap "I never thought I could be this happy at a university, you know. I always thought I would be happiest here, at home." she gently looked outside the window, her steadfast eyes seizing the land where Rainbow Valley glimmered in snow and Una's ears could hear the sound of Walter's bells there, momentarily.
"I know what you mean." Di said softly, smiling too "I was content there too. Besides, it's good to know that apart from your girls there, you also have your own brother, Jem and Shirley there."
Una smiled back at Di "Yes, it's always crowded at our Collwell Cottage." she said "The boys always find an excuse to drop by after their lectures or revising at the library, but somehow they never want us to come to their Cottage." she giggled quietly, although with a hint of her natural melancholy tone which she couldn't hide well enough even when she tried her hardest to do so.
Di chuckled too "Oh, I know the reason why." she smiled "They can't quite keep up with the mess they do over there, that's for sure." and this resulted in both her and Una laughing merrily, even if it didn't last for too long, it spread a wave of warmth over their unfulfilled hearts.
Before Una blinked, she was standing in the church of her father, as she always used to think about it, with the Bruce-boy on her side, his small hand in her only slightly bigger one, and Rosemary on her other side, all looking at Dr Gilbert Blythe bursting with pride and tears in his eyes with Rilla, glowing in love on his fatherly arm. The church was quite full of people and it was everyone Una knew, which somehow made her feel important and loved, all of those people she knew and who knew her and they truly made her feel at home, whatever the circumstances of her life or theirs were.
When Rilla met with Ken at the altar before Una's father and his smile, Una heard Bruce whispering hopefully into her ear: "Una, do you think I will be as tall as Ken one day?". She smiled down at him then and squeezed his hand in what seemed like a reassurance.
"I would never think otherwise, dearest Bruce." she whispered back to him and he sighed in contentment as if already awaiting the day his head would be even higher than Kenneth Ford's. Both Una and Rosemary shared a knowing look, laughter creeping underneath their eyes.
The ceremony was truly delightful yet Una couldn't stay focused on the words her father, Rilla or Ken spoke during it at all. She was looking at the happy eyes of Rilla's which were hidden underneath Anne Blythe's veil, and at Ken's smile, simply brimful with joy, that seemed to move around his face, and Una could feel that natural sadness in her own eyes and chest again. The pain of the past was impossible for her to ignore, and the weightless, heavy weight of Walter's letter, which was still in the pocket of her skirt pressing against her hip, was almost painful to feel as she was softly smiling through the fog of "The Wedding March" and the scene with Ken kissing his wife.
Una walked down the aisle with an entire lot of her family and friends cheering and whooping at Mr and Mrs Ford walking hand-in-hand with nothing but hopes and joys springing upon their paths which were now joined forever. Suddenly, Una felt a familiar arm being put on her shoulders "My lovely girl," John said to her softly "-am I correct in guessing that you're wistful?"
Una glanced at him and shook her head with an effort, kissing his tired cheek affectionately "Simply absorbed, father... that's all." she replied quietly and smiled at him weakly. She knew that her father wasn't convinced by her words but she was certain he knew that his further questioning wouldn't make her utter a word of real truth. Consequently, he kissed her pale cheek back and smiled at her hopefully.
"Don't get too much absorbed, dear Una." he said "Enjoy this ceremony, it's the holiest of them all as it is the one starts all the others."
Una was relieved that Rosemary put her arm through her husband's then and they both started to talk about his speech. Una then walked slowly through the chilling stillness of the air which seemed almost unearthly before she caught Bruce's arm gently and put her lips near to his ear "Darling, could you please tell mother and father that Una is going to refresh her mind and she'll come back in less than half an hour?" she whispered.
Bruce looked up at his sister with his bright blue eyes and kissed her cheek sweetly "Of course, I can!" he said with excitement in his merry high-pitched voice and in less than a second he started running into the crowd in front of him.
Una chuckled whilst looking at his back slowly disappearing from her vision. She then took a deep icy breath as the sound of chatter and laughter was becoming only a whisper of the wind that was hardly palpable to her ear. The Rainbow Valley was a kingdom of snow and winter but it was also so quiet and peaceful. Una thought that Walter must be hiding behind the White Lady, reading one of his poetry books without uttering a sound of life whilst being so focused on the pages his hands held. Una felt how a single, lonely tear rolled down her right cheek at the very thought.
"Una? Are you too not feeling in the right mood for the wedding just yet?"
She quickly wiped the tear away with her hand and turned around only to see Carl rushing into her direction with a soft smile on his face. "Yes, exactly that." she replied, returning his smile.
"It's not that I don't think Rilla and Ken should marry, definitely not that." he continued as if trying to explain to his older sister something he has done wrong "It's just that it sort of strikes me how quickly the time goes, after the war and all." both of his eyes somehow darkened, even his poor blind eye, and had a hint of a shadow in them.
Una took his hand in her own "I know, Carl. I feel the same way." she said and they both looked at each other without sharing another word, they simply understood and tried to accept this queer air surrounding them.
"Do you sometimes wish you could just get away from here, go and see a different life elsewhere?" Carl said suddenly, his arm on Una's shoulder "Persis will be going off to France to work in fashion designing. I mean, what's not to be jealous about?" he chuckled a bit nervously and Una looked up into his bright, ambitious eyes she knew better than ever before.
"But Carl, we will soon be going back to Redmond, that's a "getting away" from here too, don't you think?" she asked him tenderly, putting her arm around his waist gently.
"Well, yes, but…" he sighed, a certain emotion coming out of his mouth like a bowl of smoke "I sometimes can't help dreaming of starting my new life, the life after the war, you know?" he looked down at her and he was a bit surprised to see a few tears rolling down his sister's cheeks. He stopped immediately upon their appearance and quickly embraced her instead "No, don't cry, dearest sister. It's all over now, it's over." he was whispering and each word was piercing Una's heart.
Una knew Carl wanted nothing else but to comfort her yet he did the opposite, he said the very words that were repeatedly flowing through her conscience like little flies flying annoyingly around one's head during a warm summer day. However, the difference was that during summer she could always wave her hand to push the flies away, yet she couldn't wave her hand to push the feeling she had in her heart ever since September 1916, when all her secret dreams of romance and a family of her own vanished. Yes, it really was over, Una thought to herself.
A chilly wind blew through her and Carl's hair as they were still embracing one another, still desperately trying to adjust to what the normality of life brought to their lives with the end of the war. That wind somehow brought something else within it, Una couldn't quite figure out what it was that God was trying to tell her by it but she knew that He was trying his hardest to give her a message of some kind. However, she knew that it would take time for her to realise what that message was exactly and she didn't mind waiting, she was used to it almost, and besides, she had all the time in the world.