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Gilbert Blythe had black marks on his palms and in the conjunction of his shoulder and neck.
Anne blinked, surprised to even see his shoulder. He was working in the field with Bash, laughing and joking around, and his shirt had slipped slightly, showing a dark mark that had clearly never been touched by a soulmate.
“Anne!” she heard Gilbert exclaim, his voice absolutely ringing with joy.
She shook herself, looking up to beam at him as he hopped the fence and made his way to her. “Happy birthday, Gilbert,” she said, extending her arms. “I brought you a cake.”
He grinned, his eyes crinkling in the corners. They only did that when he was truly happy, or even ecstatic. Leaning close to her face, he raised his eyebrows. “Did you make it?”
Anne felt herself flush slowly as she maintained eye contact and stubbornly refused to pull her face away from his. “Yes, but Marilla assisted me, so you can be rest assured, it is a wonderful cake. No cordial or anything in it that shouldn’t be.”
His eyes twinkled as he pulled back and accepted the cake. “Well, thank you, Miss Shirley-Cuthbert,” he said, tilting his head to one side. “Should we go inside?”
Anne felt her heart stop for a moment—he was looking at her in such an odd way, like… No, she didn’t dare think it. She laughed nervously. “Oh, of course.”
Gilbert shot her an odd look before turning. “Bash!”
“Yes?” Bash was leaning against the fence non-surreptitiously, clearly watching them with an amused look on his face. “Blythe, are you going somewhere with the Anne-girl, and leaving me to do the work alone? All by myself, wasting away in the hot sun?”
Gilbert rolled his eyes and laughed. “I’m just going to take a quick break.”
“Sure, sure,” Bash said, waving his hand and turning away, his voice still carrying to them as he muttered. “Go ahead, it’s your birthday. Leave me out here by myself. The arrogance of that boy.”
Gilbert laughed again before turning back to Anne. His eyes were shining. “Let’s go.”
They made their way up the path towards the house, letting themselves in. Anne settled at the kitchen table and watched as Gilbert made tea quickly and efficiently.
“How has your birthday been so far?” she asked after a few minutes of quiet.
Sitting down across from her, Gilbert smiled and looked down at the table. “It’s weird, you know, that my father isn’t here. But Bash is, and… the sun is shining, and you’ve brought me a cake, so. It’s been a good day so far.”
Anne flushed again, cursing her red hair and fair complexion. “I’m glad I could bring you some amount of joy today,” she said, somewhat awkward, shifting back and forth on her seat. Her eyes flickered to his hand briefly before meeting his face again.
Gilbert gave her a small half-smile, standing when the tea kettle began to whistle. Pouring the tea, he was back in under a minute, placing a cup in front of her at the table. “Curious?” he asked.
“You’re older than all of our friends,” Anne said, the words veritably bursting from her mouth. “So your birthday came first, so, yes, I am curious. Nobody has ever told me about their soulmate mark before, but I was hoping that you and I are good enough friends to talk about something so…” She hesitated.
“Intimate?” His face was open and gentle, even as his tone remained teasing.
She shifted again in her seat, looking down at her cup. “Yes,” she said after a moment. “Intimate.”
“Well, all I know is that I have marks on each of my hands, which you can clearly see.” Gilbert lifted his hands to show off the black marks. They were slightly different shapes, as though they were touched by different things. “And I also have a mark on my shoulder.”
“I saw it,” Anne blurted out. “When you were outside.”
Gilbert nodded, Anne noting with surprise that his face was turning pink. “Well, I have three marks, which means that they’ll all be touched at the same time.”
“By your soulmate,” Anne whispered.
“By my soulmate.”
They sat in silence for a moment, both sipping their tea and avoiding each other’s gazes.
Anne fought against her wandering mind, but couldn’t help it. She wondered what kind of person would come along and captivate Gilbert Blythe’s heart. She must be a very special person, someone who was intelligent and had a sense of humor and a wonderful, vast imagination, otherwise, Anne could not imagine Gilbert wanting anything to do with her.
Gilbert took a sudden breath, sharp, startling Anne from the stillness of the moment. “Anne, you know…”
Anne stood suddenly, almost upsetting her cup of tea, straightening her skirts and her braids as she stood. “Oh, I’m sure you have so much to do today,” she said, her voice quick and short, not sure what exactly put her into such a nervous mood all of a sudden. “And Bash is waiting for you out in the fields.”
“Bash can wait,” Gilbert said, standing slowly, watching her carefully, as though she might bolt any moment.
Anne was pretty sure he was right. “Well, I must go, anyhow. I promised Marilla I would be back by lunchtime.”
“Oh.” He nodded. “Well, you would not want to disappoint Marilla.”
“No.” Anne nodded in return. “Well. Happy birthday. Congratulations on having a soulmate.”
Gilbert laughed, clearly surprised, his eyebrows flying towards his hairline. “Oh. Thank you.”
She nodded again.
“You know,” he said, stepping closer to her, “you’ll have one, too.”
“I doubt it,” Anne said, backing away. “For you see, I’m destined to be the bride of adventure for the rest of my days.”
He nodded, his eyes narrowing. “Then adventure will be your soulmate.”
Anne paused. “Maybe.”
“Either way…” Gilbert placed his chin on his palm (his black palm, the one that would one day be touched by the love of his life), as though he were thinking. “You will have a soulmate, and whoever your soulmate is, they will suit you exactly.”
Oh, what a thrill that gave her.
Anne smiled, uncomfortable and shy with the look he was giving her. “Happy birthday, Gil,” she all but whispered.
“Thank you,” he said, just as quietly. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Absolutely.” The smile she gave was real this time, brilliant and bright. “I’m excited to see what story you bring to the Story Club tomorrow.”
“It will be a good one.” He tilted his head, smiling softly. “Thank you for the cake… Carrots.”
Anne rolled her eyes. “Bye, Gil,” she said, her voice sing-songy as she went out the door. “Don’t call me Carrots.”
She could have been mistaken, but it sounded as though he whispered her full name as she all but ran down the path, towards Green Gables again.
---
“Happy birthday, Anne!” Marilla exclaimed as Anne came down the stairs. “Oh, I can’t believe you’re growing up so quickly. Sixteen years old already.”
“And I’ve decided that now that I’m sixteen, I’m going to be a lady,” Anne said, sitting primly at the table, eyeing the veritable feast that Marilla had made for her that morning. “No more gallivanting through the woods or walking on rooftops for me. I am a proper lady now, as women are when they are sixteen years old.”
Marilla nodded, her face very serious. “Oh, of course.”
“And I am also going to take all my studies very seriously from now on,” she continued. A spark of annoyance flashed in her when Marilla fought to keep a smile off her face. “I will be the most studious person ever found in the Northern Hemisphere.”
“I suppose you think there will be more studious people in the Southern Hemisphere,” Marilla said.
“I don’t suppose we know enough about the Southern Hemisphere to really know,” Anne declared. “They could be extremely studious people, and we would never know.”
Marilla nodded. “That’s true.”
They fell into silence as Anne put food on her plate.
“So,” Marilla said after a moment.
“Yes?” Anne looked up.
“You’re sixteen,” Marilla said. “Do you…?”
Anne smiled slightly before holding up her hands. Her palms were black.
“Oh, Anne!” Marilla exclaimed. “You have a soulmate!”
Anne laughed. “I suppose I do! It seems weird to think about, doesn’t it? Me, having an actual person to fall in love with and marry and spend my life with.”
“Well, Anne, that’s very nice,” Marilla said. “I’m happy for you.”
Anne nodded before leaning closer to Marilla. “I…” She dropped her voice. “I also have a mark on my side, right here.” She pointed towards her left side. “I don’t know how I could have three marks. That seems excessive. And who would be touching my side the first time we touch? How presumptuous.”
Marilla looked lost in thought as she spread jam on her toast. “I’m not sure,” she said after a moment. “It’s almost as if you would be falling and they caught you.”
“Maybe,” Anne said, wrinkling her nose slightly. “I would hate for that to be the case.”
“Do you know anyone else who has so many soulmarks?” Marilla asked after taking a bite.
“Just Gil—” Anne’s eyes widened and she picked up her toast, shoving it into her mouth in a decidedly unladylike manner. “Nobody,” she said around her food. “Just me.”
Marilla’s mouth quirked into a slight smile. “Oh, alright,” she said. “Please, chew your food like a lady, Anne.”
Anne bristled slightly at the reprimand before noticing the teasing glint in Marilla’s eye. She laughed suddenly, fighting against a cough as toast got stuck in her throat. “Yes, Marilla,” she said, taking a drink of water and grinning. “I’m going to be a perfect lady.”
“That will be the day,” Marilla said grimly. “Now, hurry up. You have to go to school, even on your sixteenth birthday.”
Anne nodded and started eating, the correct way this time.
Just like a lady.
---
“Do you have the marks?” Diana whispered, her head bent low towards Anne’s.
Anne slowly turned her hands over, briefly showing Diana the black marks on her palms.
Diana gasped softly. “Anne! That’s wonderful!”
“Shh!” Anne hissed.
“Now, ladies and gentlemen, we are going to practice something that Mrs. Rachel Lynde told me that we needed to learn more of—dancing.” Miss Stacy looked rather resigned to the thought.
There were gasps and a few of the girls exclaimed their joy over the activity. Anne frowned and raised her hand.
“Anne?” Miss Stacy asked, a smile tugging on her lips.
“I’m sorry, but what does dancing have to do with school and learning?” Anne asked, pulling her hand back to her side, hoping nobody noticed her black palm. “Aren’t we here to focus on academics?”
Miss Stacy sighed slightly. “Well, yes, but apparently, it is important for you students to have a very well-rounded education, which also involves knowledge of how to properly conduct yourself if you ever find yourself needing to dance. And Mrs. Lynde was correct—it would be remiss for me to not teach you all how to dance.”
Anne bit her lip and nodded slightly.
“Just think of it as a birthday present,” Diana whispered to her as they rearranged the classroom for space. “A break from academics!”
“I actually like academics, though,” Anne whispered back. “And I don’t want to dance with any boys.”
“I’m pretty sure the dance Miss Stacy mentioned is a group dance,” Diana said. “Maybe we’ll get to stand next to each other.”
“I hope so,” Anne whispered fervently, glancing at all the boys in the classroom. “If Cole was here, I wouldn’t be so against the thought, but since he’s not…”
“Oh, come on. You would love to dance with Gilbert.”
Anne shot Diana a (what she hoped was) scandalized look. “Diana Barry!” she whispered, tempted to lightly hit her bosom friend. “I would not.”
Diana just laughed. “All right.”
Anne didn’t have time to answer before Miss Stacy was ushering them all into formation. She heaved a sigh of relief to find that Diana was right. It was a group dance, where they didn’t even have to touch anyone.
“God bless Miss Stacy and her unorthodox methods,” Anne whispered under her breath as the music started.
And she lost herself in the dance.
It was fun, figuring out the exact steps and finding the best way to make her skirt flip up into the air as she twirled around. Her hair came out of her braids after several minutes, flying in wisps around her face as she laughed, spinning in the circle, next to Diana.
It was actually quite fun, Anne decided. Maybe dancing led to more scope for imagination than she had previously thought.
The music stopped after about fifteen minutes and Anne leaned into Diana, slightly breathless but smiling broadly.
“All right, class!” Miss Stacy was smiling as she looked at all of them.
Anne sometimes wished she knew what was going through her teacher’s mind. This was definitely one of those times—Miss Stacy looked wistful and pleased as she took them all in.
“Now we’re going to change it up a bit,” Miss Stacy continued, breaking Anne out of her thoughts. “Boys, partner with a girl.”
Anne froze. Her heart rate accelerated and she felt her eyes go wide. She turned and looked at Diana.
Her friend just shrugged and accepted when Moody asked her if she wanted to dance, leaving Anne standing all by herself.
“Anne?”
She turned and smiled faintly at Charlie. “Yes?”
“Would you like to dance with me?”
She was taken aback for a moment, forcing herself to really look and… yes, she was correct, Charlie Sloane was asking her to dance. “Oh, um… yes, thank you,” she murmured.
She glanced around the room, her eyes zeroing in on Gilbert. He was leaning against the wall alone, no girl standing next to him.
“Today we have one more boy than girl,” Miss Stacy was saying, “so I will dance with the extra. We’ll switch partners every few minutes, though. It’s a good idea to learn how to dance with multiple people.” She walked over to Gilbert and nodded at him.
He smiled and bowed slightly.
Anne bit her lip and turned to Charlie. “Do you know how to do this?”
He shrugged and took her hand in his, startling her. His palms were sweaty. It was not pleasant.
That was unfair, Anne supposed. They had all just been doing a very fast dance. Her palms were probably sweaty, too. She sighed and placed her hand on his shoulder while his touched her waist.
She gasped. “Oh,” she whispered. She felt frozen in place.
Charlie tried to take his first step, stomping on her foot.
Anne winced and backed away from him. “I’m sorry,” she said.
“Oh, no, I’m so sorry!” Charlie exclaimed, still holding her hand as though he were unsure of what to do. “I didn’t realize you weren’t ready…”
“It’s okay, Charlie,” Anne said, limply grasping his hand in hers. “I wasn’t paying attention, I was… lost in thought.”
Black marks on her palms. A black mark on her side. As though she was dancing with her soulmate. Which meant…
One of these boys was potentially her soulmate. And she was going to find out today.
Her heart could not be beating more quickly.
“Do you need to lie down?” Charlie’s face got very close to hers. Anne was distracted momentarily by how Sloane-ish he looked. “You are extremely pale right now.”
“No, no, I’m fine,” Anne said. Her voice sounded far away. “Let’s practice.”
He nodded, clearly still unsure, before getting back into the correct dance position. Gingerly, he took the first step. Anne went with him.
All things considered, Anne felt like she and Charlie weren’t bad partners. He was unsure of every step, and she was awkward and clumsy, but they knew the correct moves, so they were a decent pairing.
But he definitely wasn’t the one for her.
“Let’s switch!” Miss Stacy called. “Boys, go find a different partner.”
Charlie bowed slightly to Anne and smiled before approaching Ruby. Anne watched, bemused, as Ruby giggled and threw her hair over one shoulder before accepting, taking Charlie’s hand in her own.
“Why are you staring at Charlie and Ruby?” a voice whispered in her ear.
Anne jumped and whirled, flushing, as she came face-to-face with Gilbert. “Oh, I was just… watching,” she finished, frustrated with herself. Wasn’t she supposed to be this great wordsmith? Perhaps not. Maybe she should give up on that dream, if she couldn’t even get out a decent sentence once Gilbert Blythe showed up.
He cleared his throat. “Would you like to dance?”
Anne felt something in the air just then… anticipation. Tension. Perhaps longing. She met his eyes and found a fire burning in them, something she had only seen a few times before. Clearing her throat, she nodded. “I would love that.”
He smiled and looked over at Miss Stacy. She had already started dancing with another student. “Alright,” Gilbert said, looking back at Anne.
“Alright,” she whispered.
They stood still, just looking at each other.
Diana danced by and made a face at Anne. “You’re supposed to dance,” she whispered.
Gilbert laughed slightly, his shoulders raised from tension. “Shall we?” he asked.
“Oh, if you’re going to be so indecisive—” And Anne moved, placing her hand on his shoulder and her palm in his, just as Gilbert moved to meet her, his hand coming to her waist, his left hand firmly gripping her right.
And they stared at each other.
“How much do you think our black marks have turned into rainbows?” Anne whispered after a moment.
Gilbert swallowed.
Anne was surprised that they were standing close enough for her to notice.
“Um… Anne, I… whatever happens when we pull away from each other,” Gilbert whispered, looking down at her through his thick eyelashes, his voice deeper than usual, perhaps even raspy, “I want you to know that I…”
She nodded. “I know, Gil,” she whispered.
“Also…” He paused and glanced to the side. “I think everyone is looking at us.”
Anne jolted, pulling back from Gilbert to look at the classroom.
He was right, of course. Everybody had stopped dancing and was staring at them.
Miss Stacy cleared her throat. “Anne, Gilbert,” she said, her voice excessively normal in a way that was unsettling, “would you two like to be excused?”
Anne did not want to look at him. She knew, she knew! that he would have rainbows bursting from where the dark places once were on his hands and his shoulder, but she could not bear the thought that perhaps… maybe… she was wrong. So she kept her eyes on Miss Stacy and nodded, a quick, short nod, before rushing to the front door, bursting outside, away from everyone’s eyes, down the path, quickly, running, not sure where she was going or why she was running from Gilbert, Gil! her best friend, the boy she was in lo—
“Anne!”
Pulling short with a gasp, Anne turned, covering her eyes with her hand. “Gilbert,” she gasped, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have run. But…”
“You’re nervous.” He was close now, close enough to reach out and touch. “But, Anne… could it have been anybody else?”
“Yes!” Anne all but yelled. “Yes, it could be so many people. The world is filled with people, Gilbert, and you’re… so important to me. But what if I’m wrong? What if this is a trick? What if I move my hand and I look and we are unmatched?”
“Well…” His voice was dry. Anne imagined he was rolling his eyes and trying not to laugh. “I think everyone else’s reactions probably told you otherwise.” He lightly brushed her cheek with his palm.
It was warm. Anne felt herself jolt slightly at his touch.
“Please, just look at me.” His hand tugged her braid lightly, and this time, Anne was sure he was trying not to laugh. “Carrots.”
Anne moved her hand and almost stomped her foot, glaring at him. “How many times have I told you not—”
His head was tilted to the side, his mouth quirked into a small smile. “Yes?” he asked teasingly.
Anne looked at his shoulder, his beautiful, bright, rainbow colored shoulder, before looking down at his hands, which were decorated in the same manner.
She gasped and lifted her own hands. They were shining, shining brighter than any rainbow she had ever seen. “Gil…” she whispered.
“Anne,” he said warmly.
“Can I…” She motioned towards him, not sure what she was asking for, not sure what he would say.
“Anything,” he said, because of course he did.
Without another thought, Anne pressed forward, wrapping her arms around his waist, pressing her forehead into his shoulder, just allowing herself to feel how warm and solid and Gilbert he was.
She knew they would have a lot to talk about, but for right now? This was enough.
“Hey, Anne,” he whispered, his face tucked into her hair as he hugged her back.
“Yes?” Her voice was muffled.
“Happy birthday.”
Anne laughed.