Hello dear friends! As you've noticed yourselves, I have been absent for quite a while. There are a lot of reasons and explanations to this but nevertheless, here is the first chapter of a new story that just popped into my head a week ago. I know I haven't finished writing my story on the lovely Una and I will try to come back to it one day, however, for now I would like to introduce to you a certain Joyce Blythe. Many thanks for keeping track of me (you know who you are :) ), it's truly a wonderful community that we have on here. I hope you will enjoy this first chapter. - Bathsheba Blythe

Chapter I

The sun was out and shining through the windows like rays of good luck. Upon touching the freckled, fair face of Joyce Blythe, who slept soundly with a tiny, charming smile, the sun seemed to only highlight her unique beauty. The shadows of the green trees and even greener grass reflected on her as the train ran its course. She would have marvelled at the sight, however, she was sound asleep after her long journey across Europe and the ocean. Her curls of red were splattered around and completely out of place, just how she liked them. Joyce had her arms crossed, holding onto her notebook tightly with her ink-stained hands as if it was the most precious thing she possessed. Around her neck was a gift from one of her dearest friends, Kenneth Ford. It was a silver necklace with a fancy letter "P" which stood for her new home, her own "heaven on Earth" as she called it, Pienza in Tuscany.

"Next stop: Glen St. Mary!" were the words that woke her up, pierced through her and she swiftly opened her grey eyes, gasping: "Oh my God, I'm back!". Laughing happily, she quickly gathered her two suitcases and flew out of her cabin, stomping on one of the passenger's elegant shoes through her usual hurry. Joyce jumped out of the train as soon as it stopped at the station and started to look around frantically, her heart galloping like wild horses.

"Joy! Joy, over here!" she could not believe to hear her mother's shaky voice. And she was there, her beloved mother Anne stood right in front of her with the most motherly, moved expression anyone could ever witness. Right next to Anne stood her husband, Gilbert, who already had tears flowing down his cheeks at the sight of his eldest child coming back home, even if just for a month, after five years of her absence.

Joyce squealed, dropped her suitcases and ran straight into her parents' tight embrace she longed for for years. It was certainly one of those moments in one's life that one could never, under any circumstances, forget. Joy could smell her father's cologne that she knew so well and the violets in her mother's hair that she knew Anne would wear just for her. She could see them and touch them and rejoice in and with them. It was simply wonderful and it all quite frankly felt like a dream.

"Oh, mum…" Joyce kissed Anne's wet cheeks "-dad…" she kissed his too and then drew away to look at them both "Europe is all well and lovely but the sight of you both gives me such a thrill indeed!" she exclaimed happily.

"You cannot imagine how much we all missed you, my darling." Anne said as she cupped her daughter's face in her hands "And my goodness, how much you've grown! You're such a woman now, and an accomplished writer at that!" she shook her head with disbelief and pride as Joyce rolled her eyes through a wide smile.

"Now, now, a title of a writer does not compare to being a daughter of Anne and Gilbert Blythe." she announced and the three Blythes looked deeply into each other's eyes, soaking up every second of their reunion.

"Our daughter." Gilbert shook his head also "Our first little cherub who, I'm sure, now knows more words and wisdoms than the two of her parents combined!" The three Blythes laughed together as Joy and her father grabbed her suitcases and started for their journey back to Ingleside, their arms intertwined with Joyce's.

"Well, I am not so sure, my dear dad." Joyce replied teasingly "With so many intelligent siblings I am so eagerly awaiting to reunite with, who knows which one of us is the one and only prodigy of the family?"

Anne chuckled "My dear Joy, your siblings will go mad with happiness once they'll set their eyes on you."

She wasn't wrong.

As soon as Joyce Blythe entered Ingleside's living room, it seemed to her as if a crowd started to walk over and around her, their words and exclamations whirling into one gigantic noise and their hands and arms almost tearing her to pieces.

When Jem saw his older sister and one of his best friends in one, all he could do was to immediately twirl her around as the both of them screamed happy words at each other. As soon as Jem put his sister back on the ground, she was embraced from both sides by Nan and Di and the three of them cried into each other's shoulders. Shirley managed to walk past them quietly and Joyce, shocked at how tall he now was, squeezed him just as tightly as he did her. Rilla, of course, kissed both of Joyce's cheeks twice ("as I've heard is the fashion in Europe"), allowed herself to be hugged for no more than two minutes (and secretly enjoying it) and then smiling widely at Joyce she remarked: "Thank God, you're back, dear sister. You are one of the few who don't tease me and it means the world to me!". Finally, there was Walter, Joy's writing-brother-friend and soulmate whose shirt was already stained by tears and his cheeks stretched by smiling. "Oh, I can't believe it!" Joyce's voice broke in half and she threw her arms around him.

"The two Shakespeares have finally come back as one!" Jem announced merrily as Joy put her hands on Walter's cheeks, looking into his eyes and savouring the moment in her memory.

"I can't believe I almost lost you, dear brother-o-mine." she whispered to him, shaking "Promise me that when either of us dies first, we will be by each other's sides, no matter where or when that happens."

"I promise, my greatest of Joys." Walter said and kissed her forehead "And now will you promise me to stop thinking such morbid thoughts and celebrate your gracious homecoming instead?"

"Yes, sir!" she saluted, much to everyone's entertainment "But where is Susan?" she asked suddenly.

"She forgot to buy butter for the cake she's making for you." Shirley replied "Unforgivable, as she so said herself." he chuckled and so did everyone around him.

"Joyce Blythe!" Rilla shouted without a word of warning, coming up to her sister and touching her unruly curls with visible disgust "How could you come all this way, from and through Europe, and not wear a suitable hat?"

Joyce automatically put her hand on her head, in search of the missing object and snorted with laughter "My one, good and elegant hat! I left it on the train!" Everyone followed her suit and soon the whole room breathed and rejoiced because the eldest child of the Blythes had returned home.


During the next two weeks, the Blythes, Merediths and Mary Vance spent their mornings, afternoons and evenings all together down in the Rainbow Valley. They talked, sang, danced, ate and lived together for the entirety of that time. Joyce spent each of those days talking endlessly to all of the members of their group, loving each and every one of them equally as they loved her. She left her hair undone always and wore trousers, as she was among those who knew that that was the way she was. She marvelled at how all of them, including herself, changed and grew and got even fuller of life and even more beautiful and interesting than before, if that was at all possible.

Walter and Joyce dedicated each evening just to each other, heightening Rilla's jealousy, as they did their ritual "Never-stop-for-a-minute Writing" as they called it since childhood. Joyce would lay her head on Walter's lap and write in the air, staining absolutely everything, as Walter would write on the grass next to Joyce's head. Every five minutes, without a spoken word, they exchanged their poems or stories and added or changed them for one another. This was something that Joyce regarded as the best use of her time and also the time that would go the fastest. It was simply and truly magical.

On one of those evenings, when Walter and Joy continued their Never-stop-for-a-minute Writing and the rest of the group was dancing and singing only a few trees away, Walter suddenly tapped on Joyce's shoulder. She put away her writing and right above her was no one else but… "Ken!" she exclaimed, her smile widening so much it almost hurt her. The paper she held quickly scattered across the grass and she jumped on him wildly, squealing with happy disbelief. Forgetting about his still not fully recovered ankle, Ken fell on the ground, laughing hysterically with Joy as she landed on him. "I'm the silliest person on this Earth!" Joy managed to say after the two could finally find the words amongst the laughter "Kenneth Ford! I could've broken your ankle again!"

He kissed her cheek softly, still chuckling "I honestly wouldn't have minded if that happened." he said and embraced her "I'm too happy to see you again to care for my ankle or anything else for that matter."

She pressed her head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat as they embraced one another. It was such a soothing sound, so regular and never-ending and for a second she lost herself in it. When she looked up at him she chuckled again "You are so tall now! And your chin is so splendidly carved, like a statue's! You're such a handsome man, I'm sure the entire female part of Glen St. Mary is buzzing at your sight!"

He smiled nervously at her and then stood up with her, holding her hands still. "Thank you for the compliment, but I must return it even more strongly." he said as he put a strand of her red curl behind her ear, his eyes wandering through her from head to toe, sparkling "You look so… so…"

"Grown-up? I know, I'm getting old, unfortunately, my dear Ken." she grinned at him.

"I meant to say exquisitely beautiful." he said "But that too." he smiled mischievously at her.

Joy quickly brushed it off and turned to Walter only to see that he moved away, back into their group. She smiled at the sight of him eating Jem's freshly prepared fish by the fire, already deep into a conversation with Rilla whose mouth would not close for a single moment. "Ken!" she took his arm in hers and started to slowly walk towards the rest of the group "You must tell me, will you be attending the dance tomorrow?"

He smiled at her cheekily "Yes, I will. Although I'm not sure if I'll do much dancing considering this darn ankle." he looked down at it and Joyce could already hear him cursing it inside his head.

She grinned "Well, I'll do the dancing twice then. For you." she replied and caught Ken's eyes gleaming into her own still ones. She quickly turned her eyes back on the group and before either could say anything more, Jem exclaimed Ken's name, put his arm around him and swiftly engaged him in a conversation. Joyce sighed a sigh of relief, although she quickly smiled at the sight of the two of her old friends, simply being Jem and Ken.

"You do realise that he will tell you."

Joy almost jumped. "Walt!" she chuckled nervously "You scared me half to death!"

He looked at her more meaningfully "There's no use in denying it or delaying it, dearest sister." he said softly "He'll do something about it, and soon at that."

Both looked at the tall, dark and handsome Kenneth Ford who was now helping Jem and Faith fry some more fish, laughing and talking like in the old times. Joy sighed again "I don't know what it is, you know." she said "I just don't feel like that towards him. And I tried to convince myself otherwise but it didn't work."

Walter put his arm around her shoulder and squeezed it, smiling at her kindly "The heart knows what it wants and what it doesn't. It can be a cruel misfortune, for both parties involved. However, you can't force anything that your heart is opposed to and that's just the truth of life." his eyes full of melancholy followed the lovely and thoroughly tied light brown hair of a certain Faith Meredith who just then gave Jem a kiss on the cheek. Joy looked up at her brother and squeezed his hand tightly.

"No, you can't force your heart to do anything it doesn't want to." she said decidedly enough for Walter to turn his eyes on her "And I think it's a blessing in disguise, for why would a human being ever be responsible enough to allow his mind to be in charge of his feelings?"

Walter smiled and chuckled. He kissed his sister's forehead and started to walk with her towards Rilla who was impatiently awaiting their company. Without further words uttered between them, they both quickly forgot about their hearts' struggles and delighted in the evening which they didn't know was their last that contained the blessing carefree spirit of their childhood.