Chapter Eighteen:
Ice Skating Incidents
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Mabel smiled, the snow falling lightly around her as Anne dragged her behind her. "Which way is it now?"

"Left!" Mabel giggled, nearly tripping over her own feet and falling down as Anne increased her speed, excited to ice skate.

Mabel's smile brightened, her dimples showing up against her rosy cheeks. As she exhaled, a cloud of miss left her lips.

"It's so terribly cold out, Anne." Mabel shivered, "I miss the warmth of summer, and I'm everso excited for it to return."

"Don't worry! We can drink hot tea after words, you taught me the best." Anne complimented, "Maple syrup, aho would've thought?"

Mabel grinned, "Okay."

Anne's voice silenced and the only sound filling Mabel's ears was the wind that whirled around her.

Her heart pounded against her chest as Anne pulled her around the towering trees surrounding Mabel's family's property.

"We're almost there?" Anne turned her head as she continued to run, her fiery hair flipping behind ber.

"Anne! Watch o-" Anne let out a yelp as her foot hit the ice, causing her to slip and fall backwards.

"Ow.." Anne winced pushing herself up and into the snow. "That hurt!"

"I said watch out!" Mabel giggled, covering her mouth with her pink mittens. "You should have listened to me."

Anne smiled, "Okay, but can we please start ice skating now?"

Mabel nodded, dropping herself into the snow. She took the ice skates from Anne's hands before strapping them over her own shoes.

"Elizabeth, Catherine and I used to cone out here all the time.. but after she left for finishing school and came back with a shiny new husband, she no longer had time for this." Mabel explained, pushing herself onto the ice. 

Mabel took Anne's hand into hers, spinning her around. "Be careful, though. Some of the ice can be fragile. Mother always warns me about that. She's so terriblly worried I'll end up freezimg to death."

Anne smiled brightly, tightening her grip as they spun in circles. "I can't believe that this lake froze over. It's nearly like a river, right?"

"Only the water doesn't flow nearly as fast." Mabel raised her finger in a as a matter of fact way.

Mabel's hair flowed behind her as she spun, happiness flooding her veins.

Anne's red hair blew behind her, standing out against the bright white snow.

So pretty. Mabel thought, she couldn't help but let her eyes trail down from Anne's to her plump lips.

"Your hair looks really good against the white snow." Mabel mumbled, looking up at the taller girl.

"Your hair always looks good, though. I'm incredibly jealous." Anne laughed, shaking her head.

"Woah!" Mabel gasped, losing her footing and falling backwards, pulling Anne with her.

Anne inhaled sharply, noticing how elegant Mabel looked against the ice.

She noticed that Mabel always smelled so sweet.. Like maple syrup.

She supposed it fit, seeing her families work. It also must fit her name. Mabel and Maple sound awfully alike, afterall.

Anne gulped, rolling herself of Mabel, her heart beating at an odd speed, leaving her with one question.

Why?

~~

"It's getting dark." Anne commented. "The sunsets on your property are ever so.. glorious doesn't even seem like the right word.."

Anne stared in awe at the setting sun, both feet planted firmly on the shore. Her arms hugged herself, trying to provide any form of warmth she could.

"You're right. We should start heading back to my house soon, but first I want to show you this." Mabel giggled, skating to the center.

Anne spun around a smile, "Oh, Mabel. I love to watch you skate."

Mabel grinned, skating into the center of the ice, forgetting her mother's warning from this morning.

"Be careful of the ice, dear. It's been a warmer winter this year."

"So, I just need to start like this and-" She spun once, "Then I go-"

The sound of cracking ice cut her sentence off. She looked down, panic striking her heart as she saw the cracks forming from below her feet. "A-Anne?"

"Mabel! Mabel, okay, listen to me. You cannot move, okay? Don't move!" Anne quickly scrambled over to the bag, turning her back to put on the ice skates.

Her hands trembled as she picked up the first skate.

A loud cracking sound, followed by a scream cut her off. The redhead whipped around at the sound, her heart stopping when she no longer saw Mabel standing there. "Mabel!"

The dropped the skates, rushing forward and looking down in the hole. Blood covered the ice from where the sharp piece of ice had cut her leg.

"Mabel!" Anne screamed, as Mabel's head appeared.

She reached down, gripping the girl's hand, the fear in Mabel's eyes drove her pull harder.

"Please, please, please, please, please-" Anne muttered, using all her strength to pull Mabel out. "I-I can- I can't-"

She pulled with both hands, her breath getting lost as she heaved.

"I-" Anne let out a groan, tears forming in her eyes.

"Mabel!" A male voice called out.

Edward.

Anne felt arms wrap around her, pulling Mabel out.

The freezing girl let out a cry as the sharp piece of ice cut through her clothing, just grazing her stomach enough to cause blood to seep through.

The cloth of the soaked clothes clung against Mabel's skin.

Anne took Mabel's face in her hands, nearly startling away from how cold her cheeks were.

"Mabel! Oh, Mabel, no!" Tears welled up in her eyes as her tears dripped onto her cheeks.

"What happened?" Edward demanded, slipping his arm under Mabel's legs.

"I-I don't.. she was showing me something!" Anne rambled, following after him.

"We have to get her home, she's as cold as ice and her lips are blue." Edward looked down at the girl, who shivered continuously against him.

Her teeth chattered as she spoke, "I-I'm.. I'm s-so.. co-cold.."

"Don't worry, Mab, we're get you warm. Just stay awake for me, please?" Edwards's voice was soft as he spoke to his sister.

"I-I'll run ahead, and tell them what happened!" Anne suggested, fear clear in her blue eyes.

Edward gave her a nod in agreement, the snow crunching over the weight of his feet.

Anne looked at Mabel one last time, worry washing over her before she turned and began to rush ahead.

Her feet carried her faster than she's ever ran before. Her lungs begged for her to stop, for a relief.

But her heart urged her to continue, to press on faster.

So she did.

She ran until she saw their house appear in her vision.

Meanwhile, Edward kept a tight grip on his youngest sister.

The blood from the gash on leg soaked through her tights, staining his shirt.

But that's not what he cared about.

Right now, all he cared about was making sure his sister wasn't going to die.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

{ Word Count: 1174 }

{ A/n: i feel like this was NOT good and im sorry }

{ Edited: No }