A/N: Thank you everybody! Today it's Anna's turn. Please let me know what you think.
She checks the mirror to see if her hair is tidy.
Her cheeks have filled out a little. She smiles. A careful smile that only just reaches her eyes. She's made it through another night. She doesn't remember her dreams. Which she takes as a good sign. Like the gentle growling of her stomach.
Hunger was the last of her senses to return after…
After.
Today is just another ordinary day and she is glad of it. Glad to be dressing Lady Mary in an hour or so. Happy to run a brush through the dark hair. Pleased to be sewing back beads onto dresses and to carefully clean hats.
Perhaps it's not exciting, but it's steady. She can depend on every next step. On kind words of encouragement. On a sense of home and belonging. Even when she was locked up, she remembered Downton's routines. The sound of Mrs Hughes's shoes echoing against the walls as she made her rounds, the tinkling noise of Daisy whipping up cream by hand and the whirring of the electric mixer.
She missed it. Every little bit of the constantly filled days. Knowing today what will happen tomorrow, but breathing the Yorkshire air without restriction. Tasks and duties every day the same, but the care and joy they shared downstairs making the work seem light.
The thought of owning a little inn and watching their family grow isn't so appealing anymore.
She checks the clock. Almost time to go. She calls upstairs to her husband and waits for his response. His limp is more pronounced - she can hear it as he walks around in their bedroom. He takes longer to come down the stairs.
She asks him if he is ready to go and he nods. He is looking serious, but brighter. More at ease. Not like he looked before the war, but maybe he'll get close one day. She watches herself in the mirror once more and runs her hands over her hips. She looks softer and becoming.
Together they leave the cottage and start their recurring trek to the estate. Step by step. There's no rush. The cloud of imminent doom is slowly dissipating, but she daren't breathe freely yet.
But it won't be long now.