Ok so I'm not going to say much other than this is the night when Bates has been released from jail and is back in Anna's arms. Random drabble/creation/thingy.
They lay across from each other. They didn't speak. They didn't have to. It was a moment when looks were more effective than words, a moment when a voice may ruin the peace and pure love that radiated from them both.
Free.
He was a free man; they were free to love again, free to make their unfinished plans, free to do whatever they wanted…
He looked around the room. It was the exact same room they had spent their first night of marriage together. His Lordship had promised them a little cottage, but in the mean-time, whilst the cold January winds reaped through the small house just off the estate, they would have to spend nights alone in their rooms or visit the room in which held their secrets, which meant so much to them after spending only a night in it.
They were not touching; however they lay almost symmetrically apart, smiling at each other, drinking in each different feature they were presented with. It was perfect.
Suddenly, she spoke, gently, and lovingly, yet determinedly all the same.
'Nothing now, can stop us,' she breathed. 'When you were gone, sometimes it felt like we were being targeted by the fates, but I never had the doubt we had the power to pull through.'
She broke the deadlock and reached forwards, putting a hand on his badly shaven cheek and lightly kissing his smiling lips. He knew she wasn't finished yet.
'To me, there has always been a difference between giving up and staying strong; because at times everything hangs in the balance for your ability to do so.'
One thing he loved the most about Anna was the fact that not only was she the kindest, most beautiful woman he had ever encountered, she was also extremely wise. She knew how to handle the most challenging situations.
'And…' she continued, her voice slightly wobbling 'I've loved you for so long, desired you so much it physically hurt me…I just pray now that we have truly crossed the rough waters and can sail without too much disruption. 'Course, life is never plain and simple, but I pray to God that we have overcome the worst obstacles.
He sighed. It wasn't a sigh of disagreement or distress…it was a sigh of a man who was in beyond his depth, who had so many feelings he needed to share.
'Anna, my darling,' he began sincerely, wrapping a cold hand around her waist. 'I will continue to count my blessings every day that you are my wife, my rock, my shoulder to cry on…after the Boers, after the disaster of everything my life had become before I met you, I am still amazed that you're lying here with me now, that you are here with me listening to my very words. I love you so much more than I could craft into words. And right here, right now, I'm going to promise you one thing. I'm going to dedicate the rest of my life to being your rock…because that way I will at least be able to repay to you a little of how much I owe you.'
He looked ashamed, sad, as he uttered these words. With his spare hand, he entwined their fingers together and stroked them delicately.
'I left you…went to prison and left you again, almost denied you of our union…by God I'm surprised you don't hate me,' he chuckled the last part to himself as he shook his head in disgust. 'From now on, your littlest problem is my problem. I'll be here whenever you need me. I've said it once before, and I'll say it again, I'm tired of you having to stand by me through thin and thin. I want to make you happy and give you the amazing life you deserve.'
He watched as her eyes brimmed with tears.
'Have I upset you?' he said quietly, pulling her closer.
'No,' she half laughed. 'No, not at all. John!' she said in in almost scolding tones. 'No matter what becomes of us, I will always love you. I would never be able to move on from a man like you. You're far too gallant to ever admit or acknowledge it, but you are a great man. And,'
She paused, looking at John with a raised eyebrow, causing a tear to slip from her eye.
'you made me happy even when I was visiting you in jail or coming to see you at the Red Lion. Having you in my life is so much better than what could have happened today…'
More tears escaped from her eyes, only this time they were tears of sadness.
'Just don't think you have to go out of your way to keep my happy. I'm your equal, and all that matters is that we love each other. I think you know I will never give up on you.'
John stared at his wife. He gently wiped the tear cascading from her eye, before kissing where he wiped it from.
'I do know you love me, and knowing it is what kept me going in prison, what probably keeps me alive right now. I can see we're never going to be on equal terms in this marriage…you think I am so much greater than I am.'
At this, she snorted as if to say 'typical.'
'I don't deserve to have someone as perfect as you loving me,' he continued. 'However, I do agree on the last thing you said; I promise you that whatever else we go through, although I hope it's nothing on the scale of our recent…adventures, that I will love, protect, honour…just do everything that I can to prove my love for you.'
Anna smiled. She moved so that her nose was almost touching his.
'Well,' she almost whispered, love pouring from every part of her body 'you can start by kissing me.'