Seeing You Again Chapter 4
The loud shouts and bustling sounds of CH Postal woke Violet up early the next morning. She rubbed her eyes, looking towards the door, half expecting President Hodgins or Cattleya to come through and tell her that she had a new request. That was how most of her mornings went; there was rarely a morning where she didn't have to respond to a new request. With all of her work, and the countless number of important people that she had written for, Violet had very quickly become one of the most popular Automemories Dolls in Leiden, her popularity almost surpassing Cattleya's. Waiting a moment longer, Violet came to the conclusion that no one was coming to give her a new request, so she got dressed, smoothing the wrinkles in her dress and clipping Gilbert's brooch to her collar. After slipping her feet into her soft leather brown boots and lacing them up, Violet began the tedious task of braiding and pulling back her hair, taking careful care to braid her hair and twist them into buns tightly, finishing it off by tying two pieces of bright red ribbon to her twin buns that sat low on her head. After saying a quiet goodbye with a nod to her stuffed puppy, she left the room, making her way downstairs. CH Postal was a bustling metropolis already, even though it was only the wee hours of the morning, clients already making requests and mailmen rushing out to deliver bags bursting with letter upon letter. It was quite the sight, but it also made Violet smile as she walked towards the Automemories Doll office. It was empty as soon as she entered, which Violet found odd, as at least one person was usually here when she arrived, be it Cattleya attending to her own requests, Iris shoving books back into place on the shelf, or Erica hiding quietly at her desk typing on her typewriter. Violet made her way silently to her desk, her heels clicking on the polished mahogany floor. Her desk was illuminated by the early morning sun streaming in through the window, and it made Violet happy when it came into view. She loved it when it was sunny outside, especially in the morning. It usually meant that it was going to be a great day for her. She soon stopped short, however, when she saw an envelope sitting on her desk. She walked over briskly, picking it up and tearing the creamy paper open, retrieving the neatly folded letter inside. She carefully unfolded it, her eyes fervently scanning the inked words on the page. They widened to the size of saucers when she read them, her breath and heart stopping for a moment, and Violet dropped the letter, picking up her skirts and running out of the room so fast that she nearly tripped.
...
Violet flung open the door to President Hodgin's office, running inside. Luckily, he was there, along with Cattleya, whispering silently about something that seemed to be very secretive. They both turned at the sound of Violet, and stared dumbfounded for a moment before Hodgins finally spoke.
"V-Violet. What brings you here?" He asked hesitantly. Violet looked at them with a desperation in her eyes.
"I-I don't understand," she confessed. They both tilted their heads, confused.
"You don't understand what?" Cattleya asked. Violet's lip began trembling.
"That woman... that woman in Capria... I just received a letter from her. She said... she said..." Violet could hardly speak as tears streamed down her face.
"I told her about the Major when I was answering her request...and she told me that she knew the name Bougainvillea, but she couldn't remember where from. She just told me that...that she remembered. She knew the name Bougainvillea because she knew Major Gilbert. She said that her husband had fought with him in the army, but he died under his command." Violet's tears started falling faster.
"She also told me that... Major Gilbert was alive. She said that she had spoken to him only months ago regarding her late husband's death, as he came to give his condolences, but that she couldn't remember his last name because he had only mentioned it to her once." Violet sank to the floor, looking up at Hodgins and Cattleya with pain in her eyes.
"I don't understand... you told me he was dead, that he was missing in action. What is the truth?" Hodgins and Cattleya were now frozen still, their eyes wide with fear and uncertainty. Violet sobbed as she looked at them.
"Please, tell me. If Major Gilbert is truly alive... please tell me. I need to know. I have to know. If he is, then I must find him. I must see Major Gilbert again." Hodgins looked at the sobbing girl on his office floor with pity, his eyes darkening as he stood up.
"Violet..." he said, walking over to her and bending down to her level. She stared right into his eyes, her own begging for him to tell her the truth, pleading. He sighed as he reached out a hand and put it on her shoulder.
"Yes, Violet. What that woman in Capria told you is the truth. Gilbert is alive." Violet stared at him for a moment, unsure if what she was hearing was the truth, before placing her head in her hands and crying when she saw that Hodgin's was not lying. She cried and cried, feeling Cattleya come and wrap her arms around her. Violet could barely think; all she could see were the moments before that she had shared with Gilbert, his warm smile, his beautiful green eyes...her heart sang with so much joy and relief she could barely stand it. Looking up, she smiled at President Hodgins.
"Thank you, thank you..." she cried. Hodgins smiled softly back at her. Violet looked back up at him, wiping the tears from her face.
"Where is he? The Major? Can I go see him?" Hodgins suddenly grew uncomfortable, running a hand through his hair.
"I'm not sure. Gilbert asked me not to tell you that he was alive, as he wanted to protect you and keep you safe from having to enter another life in the army again. I tried to reason with him, but he wouldn't give." Violet's eyes sank to the floor again.
"Oh. I see. So he doesn't wish to see me?" Hodgins sighed again.
"I'm not sure. Gilbert would probably be less than happy if he knew that I told you the truth... actually, I think he'd be irate... but I think it's for the best this way. You deserve to know." Violet smiled and nodded. Hodgins ran a hand through his hair again.
"I think that you should go see him yourself, Violet. I think he'd be more than willing to see you if it was you that visited him, not me. I'll excuse you from work for a couple of days, but make sure not to be too long." Violet smiled so wide that Hodgins and Cattleya were concerned her face would split into two as she began crying again.
"Thank you, sir. Thank you very much, sir. I can't tell you how much this means to me. I will begin packing right away." Pulling herself gently from Cattleya's embrace, Violet began to leave, but Hodgins stopped her.
"Violet, wait a minute." He went back to his desk, rummaging through his many things bfore he unearthed a scrap of paper, taking it and pressing it into Violet's hand.
"Here. Here's Gilbert's current address. I wish you luck, Violet." Violet gave him a soft smile before bowing.
"Thank you, sir. I'll prepare to leave now." Violet ran back out the door as fast as her legs could carry her, saying a quick goodbye to Hodgins and Cattleya as she ran towards her future, limbs tingling with hope and excitement all the way back to the Automemories Doll office, grabbing the letter from her desk. She looked at the sloppy handwriting and misspelled words, the woman's obvious attempt at writing greatly overshadowed by the help of someone else. Nonetheless, Violet held it to her chest as tears flowed from her eyes yet again that day.
"Thank you, miss," she whispered.
"Thank you so much. I am forever in your debt." Kissing the letter tenderly with her lips, she put it in a drawer in her desk for safekeeping before rushing up to her rooms and packing her things. She packed so fast that she could barely see as she threw everything into her suitcase and rushed down the stairs to the entrance of CH Postal. Stepping out onto the street, she looked at the piece of paper that President Hodgins had given her with all the information for Gilbert's current location, happiness filling her heart to the point it was bursting as Violet eagerly began walking, her strides turning into jogs as she bounded towards Gilbert, happy tears dripping from her eyes and getting caught up in the wind. Finally. Finally, she would get to see Major Gilbert again. Finally, she would get to be by his side, tell him everything that had happened to her over the past two years.
But, most importantly of all, she would get to tell him that she finally knew what those words meant.
She would get to tell him that she knew what I love you means.
Violet began running faster, wanting nothing more than to reach Major Gilbert. This moment, she was sure, was the happiest moment of her life. And nothing, she thought, could spoil it.
A/N: Hey guys, I thought that this chapter was going to take me a much longer time to write, but the more that I wrote it the more ideas and stuff I got so I ended up finishing this chapter super quick! I hope you guys love this chapter as much as I do, it warmed my heart as I was writing this. Finally, Violet and Gilbert will meet! I'll try to update you all with the next chapter as soon as possible where they do meet. It's sure to be a great reunion! Thanks for continuing to read this fanfic, you guys, I really appreciate all of you who are continuing to read it!
